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Democrats lose several seats |
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Wednesday, November 07 2007 |
By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer
Half will stay and half will go at the start of 2008 after five of the 10 contested races in local towns Tuesday saw incumbents lose their positions.
On the Democratic side of the races, four incumbents lost their positions, of which three were to incoming Republicans and one to an incoming Democrat.
In Columbia City, council members Thor Hodges and Grace Lotter lost to their respective opponents, Don Sexton and Nicole Penrod.
Hodges said after the election that he would like to thank Columbia City and the community for giving him the opportunity to serve the city for the past four years.
He said he has seen a lot of change and “forward thinking” in Columbia City during his time on the council.
“I’m proud of the accomplishments we made as a council … it’s been a wonderful experience for the past four years,” Hodges said.
He added that the council made some tough decisions during his time on it and acknowledged those may have played a role in the defeat of the incumbents on the council, but said they were decisions that needed to be made.
Fellow Democratic council member Grace Lotter, who lost her seat for the southeast district, said she was disappointed with the vote, but wished Nicole Penrod the best of luck.
Newly-elected council member Roger Seymoure, who beat incumbent Republican Doug Fahl for the southwest district seat, said he was excited for his own race, but disappointed for the other Democrats who lost.
Seymoure said he already knows those he will be joining on the council and doesn’t have any plans for his term just yet, and will have to wait and see what unfolds.
As for the man on top, re-elected Columbia City Mayor Jim Fleck, who won by 315 votes more than former mayor Ron Glassley.
“I’m happy that people had confidence in me and wanted me to be here for another four years as mayor as we continue to move forward and grow,” he said.
Regarding the council elections, he said a relationship will have to be reestablished, but he hopes to be able to work with council members to deal with some difficult issues that could be in the city’s future, such as complying with further federal mandates.
Churubusco, Larwill elections
It wasn’t just Columbia City that saw the defeat of incumbents Tuesday night. Churubusco and Larwill both saw a loss in the makeup of each town’s council.
In Churubusco, Democratic council members Viv Rosswurm and Frank Kessler retained their seats on the council while fellow Democratic incumbent Lea Ann Herron was defeated.
Herron lost to Republican John Hart, who is also town marshal of Churubusco.
“Of course I’m disappointed. It’s a hard day for me,” Herron said today. She added that despite her personal sadness, one of the most saddening aspects of the night for her was the low voter turnout with only 175 residents taking to the polls.
“That’s what I think is the sad part,” she said, but added that she was happy ’Busco was able to have election, which was the first one in years, a sentiment echoed by Rosswurm.
Rosswurm said she was somewhat surprised by the outcome of the election, but was pleased that voters chose to re-elect her.
She urged residents to stay involved in the process and to even try to get more involved when possible.
Herron said she did not know if talks of a possible water rate increase played a role in her loss.
Vote totals for the race were as follows: Kessler, 121 votes; Rosswurm, 102 votes; Hart, 81 votes; Herron, 74 votes.
Republicans Pat Stanford and Ken Bohde who were also vying for council seats had 73 and 63 votes, respectively.
Rosswurm and Kessler were unavailable for comment.
As for Larwill’s election, current Republican council members Rick Flauding and Rick Hobbs retained their seats while Democrat Pat Robinson lost to fellow Democrat Lore Wolfe.
Comments were not available from those in the Larwill race.
By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer
Half will stay and half will go at the start of 2008 after five of the 10 contested races in local towns Tuesday saw incumbents lose their positions.
On the Democratic side of the races, four incumbents lost their positions, of which three were to incoming Republicans and one to an incoming Democrat.
In Columbia City, council members Thor Hodges and Grace Lotter lost to their respective opponents, Don Sexton and Nicole Penrod.
Hodges said after the election that he would like to thank Columbia City and the community for giving him the opportunity to serve the city for the past four years.
He said he has seen a lot of change and “forward thinking” in Columbia City during his time on the council.
“I’m proud of the accomplishments we made as a council … it’s been a wonderful experience for the past four years,” Hodges said.
He added that the council made some tough decisions during his time on it and acknowledged those may have played a role in the defeat of the incumbents on the council, but said they were decisions that needed to be made.
Fellow Democratic council member Grace Lotter, who lost her seat for the southeast district, said she was disappointed with the vote, but wished Nicole Penrod the best of luck.
Newly-elected council member Roger Seymoure, who beat incumbent Republican Doug Fahl for the southwest district seat, said he was excited for his own race, but disappointed for the other Democrats who lost.
Seymoure said he already knows those he will be joining on the council and doesn’t have any plans for his term just yet, and will have to wait and see what unfolds.
As for the man on top, re-elected Columbia City Mayor Jim Fleck, who won by 315 votes more than former mayor Ron Glassley.
“I’m happy that people had confidence in me and wanted me to be here for another four years as mayor as we continue to move forward and grow,” he said.
Regarding the council elections, he said a relationship will have to be reestablished, but he hopes to be able to work with council members to deal with some difficult issues that could be in the city’s future, such as complying with further federal mandates.
Churubusco, Larwill elections
It wasn’t just Columbia City that saw the defeat of incumbents Tuesday night. Churubusco and Larwill both saw a loss in the makeup of each town’s council.
In Churubusco, Democratic council members Viv Rosswurm and Frank Kessler retained their seats on the council while fellow Democratic incumbent Lea Ann Herron was defeated.
Herron lost to Republican John Hart, who is also town marshal of Churubusco.
“Of course I’m disappointed. It’s a hard day for me,” Herron said today. She added that despite her personal sadness, one of the most saddening aspects of the night for her was the low voter turnout with only 175 residents taking to the polls.
“That’s what I think is the sad part,” she said, but added that she was happy ’Busco was able to have election, which was the first one in years, a sentiment echoed by Rosswurm.
Rosswurm said she was somewhat surprised by the outcome of the election, but was pleased that voters chose to re-elect her.
She urged residents to stay involved in the process and to even try to get more involved when possible.
Herron said she did not know if talks of a possible water rate increase played a role in her loss.
Vote totals for the race were as follows: Kessler, 121 votes; Rosswurm, 102 votes; Hart, 81 votes; Herron, 74 votes.
Republicans Pat Stanford and Ken Bohde who were also vying for council seats had 73 and 63 votes, respectively.
Rosswurm and Kessler were unavailable for comment.
As for Larwill’s election, current Republican council members Rick Flauding and Rick Hobbs retained their seats while Democrat Pat Robinson lost to fellow Democrat Lore Wolfe.
Comments were not available from those in the Larwill race. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, November 08 2007 )
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