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Races getting set in Floyd County elections as filing deadline nears

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

With just one day left to file nomination papers for county elections, there are candidates for every one of the available major offices in Floyd County, including a couple of supervisor districts with multiple candidates.

The filing deadline to submit nomination papers for county office is 5 p.m. today (Friday) in the county auditor’s office, and with action that took place in the Iowa Statehouse this week, that filing became significantly easier.

The Legislature passed and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law on Tuesday that reduces the number of signatures needed on a nomination petition for county supervisor districts in a county the size of Floyd County from 100 signatures to 50.

“This act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment,” the law says.

County Auditor Gloria Carr said she got an email from the Iowa Secretary of State Office on Tuesday, bringing the change to her attention.

Carr said it’s impossible to know everyone who might be considering turning in papers for an elected office, because they can be downloaded from the Secretary of State website in addition to being picked up at the Auditor’s Office.

She said she knew of one and possibly two more people who might turn in supervisor nomination papers on Friday.

Only two incumbents are running for the six countywide offices – County Attorney Rachel Ginbey and County Recorder Amy Assink, who was appointed to the position after the previous recorder retired.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were candidates for each party in two of the supervisor seats and one candidate in the third district. None of the current incumbents has filed to run for reelection, but one former supervisor is seeking to get back on the board.

According to information from the Floyd County Auditor’s Office, Mark Kuhn has filed to run for the Democratic nomination for Supervisor District 1, which includes the Charles City precinct south of the river and six townships in the south part of the county.

Kuhn was a supervisor from 1993 to 1998, then was elected to the Iowa Legislature in 1998 and served six terms from 1999 to 2010, then was elected again in 2010 as a supervisor for two more terms from 2011 to 2018.

If no other candidates file for District 1, Kuhn would face off against Julius Bryant, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat. Both men are rural Charles City residents.

The other supervisor district where there will be a choice in November is District 2, where Stewart Dalton of Charles City is running for the Democratic nomination and Dennis Keifer of rural Charles City is running for the Republican nomination.

District 2 consists of the Charles City precincts north of the Cedar River and the northern part of St. Charles township.

There is one candidate currently for Supervisor District 3, Jeff Hawbaker of Floyd, running for the Republican nomination. District 3 is the only district that does not include any part of the city of Charles City, and consists of the northern six Floyd County townships.

Incumbent supervisors Linda Tjaden and Roy Schwickerath have both said they are not running, and supervisor Doug Kamm has not announced his decision.

If Kamm did run, he would face Bryant in the Republican primary for the nomination for District 1, with the Republican winner facing Kuhn as things currently stand.

All three of the new supervisor districts will have elections this year, after county voters approved going to districts in a special election last summer. Electors selected making Floyd County a Plan 3 county, meaning candidates have to be residents of the district they wish to represent, and only residents of a district can vote to select their district’s supervisor.

The winner of District 1 will serve only a two-year term after this election, because that district was selected randomly as the one for a shorter initial term to get back to staggered four-year terms on the county board.

Here are the people who have filed nomination papers for Floyd County office as of the end of the work day Thursday:

• Floyd County Recorder – Amy Assink, Republican, Charles City.

• Floyd County Attorney – Rachel Ginbey, Republican, Rockford.

• Floyd County Treasurer – Jessie Lynn Holm, Republican, Charles City.

• Floyd County Supervisor District 1 – Julius Bryant, Republican, Charles City; Mark Kuhn, Democratic, Charles City

• Floyd County Supervisor District 2 – Stewart Dalton, Democratic, Charles City; Dennis Keifer, Republican, Charles City.

• Floyd County Supervisor District 3 – Jeff Hawbaker, Republican, Floyd.

• Cedar Township – Trustee: David Wetherell, Orchard; Clerk: Amy Johnson, Floyd.

• Floyd Township – Trustee: Duane Folz, Floyd; Clerk: Theresa Stewart, Charles City.

• Niles Township – Trustee: Christopher Garden, Charles City; Gary Girkin, Charles City.

• Pleasant Grove Township – Trustee: Dennis Gabe, Greene; Clerk: Roxann M. Geelhoed, Greene.

• Riverton Township – Trustee: Robert Mondt, Charles City; Charlie Westervelt, Charles City; Clerk: Troy Stille, Nashua.

• Rockford Township – Trustee: Darrin White, Rockford; Clerk: Kevin L. Boehmer, Rockford.

• Rock Grove Township – Trustee: Michael Shanks, Nora Springs; Bruce Squier, Nora Springs; to fill position: Mark Nel, Nora Springs; Clerk: Galen Montag, Rudd.

• Rudd Township – Trustee Dustin Straube, Rudd; Larry Bortz, Rudd.

• Saint Charles Township – Trustee: Dennis Sanvig, Charles City; Wallace L. Ross, Charles City; Clerk: Diane Hobert, Charles City.

• Ulster Township – Trustee: Randy Heitz, Charles City; Gerald Schmitt, Rockford; Clerk: William J. Dolan, Marble Rock.

• Union Township – Trustee: Ricky Rex, Marble Rock; Mark Schlader, Marble Rock.

 

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