Number of officials win re-election bids

Voters in The Daily Republic’s coverage area seemed to be satisfied with many of their city and school board incumbents, as they voted several back into office Tuesday.

• Chamberlain School Board: Residents of Chamberlain School District chose two board members from five candidates. The voters re-elected Rebecca Reimer with 351 votes and elected Jay Blum with 449 votes. Marcel Felicia received 274 votes, Kim Gullickson received 197 and James N. Cadwell received 141. Reimer and Blum will take office in July. School Business Manager Terry Brooks said there was a 25 to 30 percent voter turnout.

• Avon city: The city of Avon will begin May with a new mayor as Kevin Tjeerdsma received 122 votes Tuesday. He defeated opponent Jill Grogan, who received 82 votes. “I was on city council, anyway; I’ll just be the mayor now,” he said. “No, I feel good about it. I’m really impressed and happy with the voter turnout. It has to be close to 50 percent.”

Tjeerdsma is the fire chief in Avon and spent his election evening monitoring a controlled burn.

“It’s really a pretty sight right now,” he said after the election.

Tjeerdsma replaces Keith Gill, who chose not to run for a second term

• Oacoma city: Residents of Oacoma re-elected Mick Zeman and Bill Harmon to their seats on the council with 77 and 94 votes, respectively. Newcomer James Harmon received 39 votes. The city had 35 percent voter turnout, with 116 casting ballots out of 333 registered voters. Each seat is three years.

• Emery city: The city of Emery chose a new mayor in Josh Kayser, giving him 103 votes. Darin Kayser received 64 votes. Former Mayor Harley Fluth chose not to seek re-election.

Ward 1 residents re-elected LeAnn Heltzel for a two-year term on the council with 48 votes. Chad Eddy received 25 votes, and there was a 50 percent voter turnout.

• Bridgewater city: Incumbent Philip Heiberger maintained his Ward 3 seat on the Bridgewater City Council with 23 votes. He will serve another two-year term. Challenger Ken Haugen received 13 votes.

• Canistota School Board: Brad Engbarth received 93 votes to fill the vacant two-year board term at Canistota. Phyllis Arends received 49 votes. The district had an 18 percent voter turnout.

• Gregory School Board: Kellie Rae Stukel will begin a three-year term on the Gregory School Board after receiving 264 votes. Rod Vosika received 90 votes. Three hundred fifty-five voters went to the polls out of a possible 1,477.

• Platte city: Jarrod L. Lang will serve as the new Ward I alderman for the city of Platte. He received 109 votes. Opponent John Stekly received 28 votes. One hundred thirty-seven residents voted.

• Scotland city: It was a close council Ward 1 race in Scotland, as voters chose incumbent Victor Settje to return for a two-year term with 44 votes. Vernon Peterka received 40 votes. The city estimated a 34 percent voter turnout.

• Freeman city: Charles Gering will take over as Ward I city alderman on the Freeman City Council. He received 40 votes Tuesday, defeating incumbent Tom Stolp, who served on the council since 2003. The seat is a two-year term.

• Burke city: Tom Glover will serve a two-year term as mayor of Burke after he received 125 votes. Incumbent Richard Bartling received 96 votes. The city had a 46 percent voter turnout.

• Winner city: Ward 3 residents in Winner have a new alderman in Zach Anderson, who received 76 votes. Opponent John Meyer received 68 votes. Residents chose to re-elect Frank Finney for Ward I with 113 votes. Opponent Jason Jankauskas received 94 votes. Ward 2 residents re-elected Val Sherman with 139 votes. Opponent Jeremy Clay received 109 votes.

Tags: election 2011, news, updates, state, politics