Ely voters defeated a bond referendum that would have raised taxes to fund a $7 million community center to house City Hall, the library and other recreational services. The measure would have raised taxes $300 to $480 a year, depending on the assessed value of a resident’s property.
The bond needed 60 percent approval to pass. Just 39 percent of voters said "yes," while 61 percent voted "no." Read more about the results here.
It looks like the Cedar Rapids Community School District's proposed $220 million bond has failed. According to unofficial results, 38 percent of voters said "yes" to the measure, and 61 percent voted "no." The bond needed 60 percent approval to pass.
The Gazette's K-12 education reporter, Grace King, is working on a story that includes all the details, as well as comments from the district and the Vote Yes committee. We will get that posted online just as soon as she wraps it up. Stay with us, folks!
Solon and Tiffin voters pick newcomers as mayors https://t.co/siutrEe8wi
— The Gazette (@gazettedotcom) November 8, 2023
Here are preliminary results of a few of the contested races in Linn County, outside of Cedar Rapids.
Our first election night stories about contested races in Eastern Iowa are publishing online. Erin Jordan reports on Laura Bergus' win over Pauline Taylor for a seat on the Iowa City Council. That's despite Mayor Bruce Teague's endorsement yesterday of Taylor.
Find that news and more about who has won seats on the Iowa City Council in Erin's story here.
Our reporters are hard at work totaling vote counts, talking to candidates and writing stories summarizing today's results. Keep checking our Elections Page online. And don't forget to log in to read our Green Gazette print replica Wednesday morning, where we'll have four pages of special election coverage.
Laura Bergus was reelected to Iowa City Council with 66 percent of the vote, despite Mayor Bruce Teague asking voters to back her opponent. https://t.co/KfA5CKVIVC
— The Gazette (@gazettedotcom) November 8, 2023
David Maier talks to supporters at his watch party at Lion Bridge in southwest Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek / The Gazette)
Council member Pat Loeffler, at his Double Z Bar and Grill watch party surrounded by family, awaited results after polls closed at 8 p.m. He said he liked the bar because it’s a union-friendly bar — some of the food items are named after unions — with good food.
“It’s been a relaxed night so far,” Loeffler said. “Here with my family. Glad it’s here but it’s been a lot of work getting to this point… I feel good about things. There’s not a lot that I could have done differently.”
As a 23-year carpenter, Loeffler said he was hopeful for labor unions coming out to vote in the off cycle elections.
“I’ll take it as it comes,” he said.
Jaymz Larson, who owns Double Z, has hosted watch parties when the Loeffler family was on Family Feud.
“I know him as a person. He’s a good person, a family guy, he’s got great values,”Larson said. “He’s a person that for years I’ve looked up to.”
Looking for election results? We have you covered right here. The page will continue to update as we have results to add. (I recommend using the search function towards the top of the page if you have a specific race or races you are looking for. Turns out we are covering... a lot of elections... and scrolling down can be overwhelming.)
Continue to follow our liveblog for responses to the election as they happen. And we'll have more stories on the main page of thegazette.com as soon as the ink dries.
Before polls closed, around 7:30 pm., council member Ann Poe awaited results in her southeast Cedar Rapids home surrounded by family. She watched Dancing with the Stars, as she does every week, with a fire burning.
“Come here Braylen, can I have a hug?” she asked her granddaughter.
“This is my mood tonight - holding my granddaughter and getting hugs and having my family all around me,” Poe said. “It’s why I do the work that I do.”
Poe said she was feeling grateful that she has had this opportunity to serve.
“I’m grateful for my family and the community of Cedar Rapids that has voted for me over the last 12 years,” Poe said.
Her friend Joyce Niebuhr told Poe, “You are passionate about our community and I applaud you for a job well done.”
Poe and Niebuhr met when they were 8 years old grew up taking ballet and doing musicals at Jefferson.
“She’s so caring,” Niebuhr said. “She genuinely cares deeply about this community and to do the best job that she could possibly do for the citizens of Cedar Rapids.”
6 PM turnout 13,526 (18.26%)https://t.co/7tUuiuGa84
— Johnson County (IA) Auditor's Office (@jcauditor) November 8, 2023
Daniel Lang, 39, a teacher who voted at IBEW Local 405 union hall in southwest Cedar Rapids, said he voted in favor of the Cedar Rapids school bond issue. He said some schools have not changed since his father and grandfather were in school.
"It’s a lot of money, but I will always feel like we don’t have enough money in education because we don’t," Lang said. "... Schools are not going to get any better without additional funding. Things are definitely wearing out.”
Lang said he voted in favor of Cedar Rapids school board and council incumbents. For school board, Lang said he took care to avoid voting for candidates who he'd seen make transphobic comments in news reports.
“He probably thinks we have litter boxes in schools too, which we do not," Lang said. He couldn't remember specifically which candidate made these comments, but he said he avoided voting for Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates Barclay Woerner and Rick David.
On at-large council races, Lang said it seemed incumbents Ann Poe and Pat Loeffler were established presences. It sounded as if they had stuff in the works from what he saw in the news through The Gazette and Iowa’s News Now.
“Those are harder for me because I’m not as involved, but I felt like the two incumbents had more substance in their statements," Lang said. "I felt like Maier came across as he just wanted to shake things up. I don't know that I felt that was necessary.”
As the sun set outside IBEW Local 405 union hall off Wiley Boulevard SW, Chatyris Williams, 35, after voting with his family said he voted because he thinks it is important to be civically involved.
He said the school bond measure important for him to support, especially with public funds already going to private institutions in Iowa through the private school voucher bill Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds passed this legislative session.
“Public funds should go to public schools,” Williams said.
Williams said he wrote himself in as a candidate for both Cedar Rapids school board and council.
“I just feel like they need to get more in touch with the common person in Cedar Rapids,” he said — working people and not only high-class residents.
Melissa Gordon, 33, a school-based therapist at Kennedy High School, voted at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library Tuesday afternoon. She said she qas motivated to vote to cast a ballot in favor of the Cedar Rapids school bond referendum.
“I think it’s important that we update our schools,” Gordon said. “… It’s much needed not only for security reasons, but I’ve been in a lot of schools in the Cedar Rapids area and they’re outdated.”
Gordon said she initially only planned to vote for the bond issue, but did research and also voted for newcomer David Maier for an at-large Cedar Rapids City Council seat and on the Cedar Rapids school board for at-large incumbents Jen Neumann and Cindy Garlock and for Kaitlin Byers, who’s challenging Dexter Merschbrock for a district seat.
She said she received multiple texts from Maier and supported his stance on the school bond referendum as well as LGBTQ rights and transgender rights within schools. Working in a school, she said she’s aware of LGBTQ issues within schools because it’s been politicized. Maier is openly gay, had a campaign presence at Cedar Rapids' LGBTQ bar, Basix, and was previously on the board of nonprofit CR Pride.
Ricky Kuhn, 76, who recently moved to Cedar Rapids and said he is Merschbrock’s father-in-law, said his daughter suggested who he vote for. He voted against the school bond issue, swayed by Merschbrock's vocal opposition to it.
“My son in law was talking about instead of building new schools, keep these old schools, fix them up,” Kuhn said.
Kuhn said Cedar Rapids should support neighborhood schools where students can walk and be part of the neighborhood instead of taking money away and trying to build new schools.
He also supported only Maier for council. On school board, he voted for Merschbrock, Donald Taylor who’s challenging Garlock and Neumann and Stacie Johnson, who’s challenging board President David Tominsky.
Matthew Guyer is the second person today to tell me he showed up at the polls -- casting his vote at the Ladd Library -- for the bond and did not vote for any city or school board candidates
Guyer voted "no" on the multimillion dollar school bond. "My property taxes keep going up," said Guyer, whose kids graduated from the school district.
Guyer also said it doesn't feel necessary to take this large of a bond and all the proposed projects that come along with it in "one chunk."
District leaders, however, say the proposal is more economical taking it to voters all at once.
Keith Young cast his ballot at the Ladd Library on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids, ultimately voting "no" on the Cedar Rapids school district's proposed $220 million bond referendum.
Young said he has "no problem" with the proposed tax increase that would come with the bond. However, he is unsure why the district is choosing to find a renovation project at Franklin Middle School instead of other middle schools with historic value like Wilson.
"Why couldn't we do both?" Young said. "I think they could structure it a little differently."
Dave Leamon voted in favor of a $220 million bond referendum in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, casting his ballot at Lovely Lane United Methodist Church.
"I don't want to be that old guy that's negative," Leamon said with a chuckle.
Doug Fishwild also voted in favor of the measure. As a journeyman working with metal at The Waldinger Corporation, Fishwild said they struggle to find apprentices. The bond would fund expanding career and technical education at three Cedar Rapids high schools to give more students the opportunity to explore careers like welding.
At Community of Christ Church in Hiawatha, Marlene Meyer said she voted "no" on a $220 million bond that would fund facility projects in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
Meyer said the $220 million is "a lot of money," and she does not like how the district was planning to spend it.
Kennedy High School football coach Brian White voted in favor of the bond, even though he thinks the measure will fail.
"I don't think this has a chance to pass," White said, adding that there's a lot of negativity surrounding the bond.
For White, it's more than turf fields -- which a portion of the bond would fund at each of the high schools, allowing athletes and marching band students to practice and avoid a muddy field.
"An all-weather field is an advantage," he said. "We can't compete with bandaids and pennies."
White said residents also need to invest in education and kids' futures.
"I can't fathom why the people of Cedar Rapids won't invest in our youth," White said. "Generations before us invested in our schools. Why can't we do that now?"
If residents want kids to stay in Cedar Rapids, investment in schools is necessary, White said. The Cedar Rapids Community School District can't compete with districts like College Community and Linn-Mar that have updated facilities.
At the Northwest Recreation Center, Karen Weber cast her ballot -- but she didn't vote for any Cedar Rapids school board or Cedar Rapids City Council candidates, she said.
Weber showed up at the polls to vote "no" on the $220 million bond referendum that would fund projects in the Cedar Rapids Community School District because she doesn't want to see her property taxes increased, she said.
Jason Hochstedler also voted "no" on the referendum, saying that school districts should be more strategic when creating their budgets to fund these projects and be "less dependent on inflationary spending."
Hochstedler, who does not have children in the school district, said he voted for "conservative" school board candidates, casting his ballot for Barclay Woerner, Richard David, Stacie Johnson and Dexter Merschbrock. He said he was concerned about "pornographic" books available in school libraries and overall "immorality" in schools.
Youth today are taught to be "victims," Hochstedler said.
It’s Election Day, and Iowa voters are headed to the polls to decide winners in city and school elections.
At the Northwest Recreation Center in Cedar Rapids, Jamie Lentz voted "yes" on a $220 million bond referendum that would fund projects in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
Lentz has two kids at Harrison Elementary School -- neighbor to the recreation center -- and a son at Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy. "It's important to me to make my voice heard," she said.
Lentz said she voted in favor of the bond referendum because the school district is in dire need of updated facilities. Take, for example, the infrastructure challenges at Taft and Harding middle schools, Lentz said.
On Oct. 11, school officials announced the evacuation and closure of Taft’s east dome after an inspection found it was unstable. Later that month, the Cedar Rapids Community School District announced it was closing the second dome at Taft and both domes at Harding Middle School. The two middle schools were constructed in 1965 using the same design that features two domes.
The district is of new and renovated schools with safe learning environments, Lentz said.
Last month, the Cedar rapids school board upheld a decision to have Harrison Elementary demolished and a new building built on its site. The project is not being funded by the proposed bond.
Lentz said that while she understands people's concern about historic preservation, it's more important to her to have a school in her neighborhood where many students walk to school. She also is a part of a carpool where a group of families take turns driving their kids to Roosevelt, so they don't have to walk.
The state requires schools to bus elementary and middle school students who live more than 2 miles from their school and to bus high school students who live more than 3 miles from their school.
There also are nine candidates vying for four seats on the Cedar Rapids school board. Lentz said she voted for incumbents Cindy Garlock, David Tominsky and Jen Neumann and new candidate Kaitlin Byers because she believes they "align with my values."
11 AM turnout 4000 (yes, exactly) (5.4%)https://t.co/7tUuiuGa84
— Johnson County (IA) Auditor's Office (@jcauditor) November 7, 2023
Tiffin has a contested mayoral race, but two men who voted Tuesday morning at the Tiffin Elementary School said they were there to vote on the school board. 
"The community is growing at such as rapid pace," said Joe Vens, 32, of Tiffin. The Johnson County community is one of the fastest-growing in the state, with a population that increased 131% between 2010 and 2020. "There needs to be a level of growth expectation and as citizens we need to financially support that."
Levi Amstutz, 24, said he voted for Tiffin School Board members who support education in skilled trades, not just college preparation.
"I find that the school district is the kind of place where our kids will be learning and growing up and that forms the culture that our city and our nation will soon adopt," he said. "And so I find it important that we, as parents, and the adults who are involved in the process make sure our values are reflected."
About 60 people had voted at the Tiffin 2 polling place by 9:20 a.m.
Emma Shimanovsky, 35, of Iowa City, brought her 4-year-old son, Alex, to vote at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame on Iowa City's west side Tuesday morning on their way to preschool. 
Shimanovsky said she voted to re-elect school board members, who she thinks have done a good job. She is concerned a state ban on school books that contain descriptions of sex could be implemented more broadly than necessary with some candidates on the school board.
"Iowa feels a little bit like despair right now," Shimanovsky said. "So we're kind of hoping that Iowa City and the local elections can be a bright spot."
Jim Worrell, 81, of Iowa City, makes a habit of voting in every election.
"I read the paper a little," he said about how he chooses candidates. "I try to pick up on a name or two that I like."
Worrell said he admires people who serve in public office because it takes time to attend meetings and learn about issues. "Then if you're on the school board you get calls at night with people bitching at you," he said.
11AM turnout numbers can be found at https://t.co/B2XriMAQeB.
— Linn Co. Elections (@lc_elections) November 7, 2023
Election Day turnout is at 5.4%. Election Day and Absentee turnout is at 9.6%.
Bruce DeSotel, 72, of Cedar Rapids, was one of 95 people who had voted as of 9:45 a.m. at Salem United Methodist Church on the city's southwest side.
Three candidates are competing for two at-large seats on the Cedar Rapids City Council, incumbents Ann Poe and Pat Loeffler are running against newcomer David Maier.
DeSotel said he voted for Poe and Maier, because "they were the only two I knew anything about."
He also voted for a a $43 million bond issue that would fund the construction of a swimming pool and wellness center in the College Community School District that will be operated by the YMCA.
If it passes, the College Community bond would not raise property taxes since the district will have paid down previous debt. The current tax levy rate for residents is $16.61 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.
"It's time to start spending more money on the schools," DeSotel said. "I thought it made sense to me and it's time to start focusing on the schools again."
He said he also voted for those running for the four candidates running for College Community School District Board of Education, all of whom are running unopposed. Three of the four candidates are incumbents.
Lynn Woods, 44, and Andrew McNabb, 47, of Cedar Rapids, also voted for the College Community bond issue.
"I wanted to know if that's going to be open to residents (and) if it's going to, you know, be a benefit to the community as a whole and not just the students that are into athletics," and was assured by district officials that it would be, Woods said.
Woods said she refrained from voting for some candidates running for the College Community school board, but would not say which ones, because she could not readily find information about the candidates.
"My biggest concern is keeping Christian extremists out of my school system, Moms for Liberty in particular," she said. "Book banning is never on the right side of history. It never has been and it never will be, and I am not for that."
Woods expressed frustration at a lack of information available online about candidates running for local offices and local ballot measures.
"I would just love it if candidates would give more information about themselves for voters to be well-informed," she said.
Woods said she voted for David Maier in the at-large Cedar Rapids City Council race and no one else.
"He seemed to have the most information online, and he was endorsed by We Are CR," an advocacy group that seeks to promote racial justice, she said.
"I just did not feel comfortable with the amount of information I could find" on the other two candidates running for the two at-large Cedar Rapids City Council seats, Woods said.
McNabb said he and Woods "are pretty well-aligned," and also voted for the College Community School District bond issue.
"I really feel that we need more things out there for not only the kids to do but the community to do as well," McNabb said. "... Whatever we can do to make it a better community -- to make people go, 'Hey, I want to be over there because of.'"
For some of you, today may be your first time voting! There’s no need to be nervous. Visit https://t.co/7EhW9UHmW2 for all the info you need before heading to the polls today! ✅ pic.twitter.com/Tm4j6nixYz
— Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (@IowaSOS) November 7, 2023
9 AM turnout 1813 (2.5%) https://t.co/7tUuiuGa84
— Johnson County (IA) Auditor's Office (@jcauditor) November 7, 2023
It’s Election Day! Did you know that the first Tuesday in November became the official designated day for elections back in 1845? pic.twitter.com/cSbVkWPENp
— Iowa Department of Education (@IADeptofEd) November 7, 2023
CITY & SCHOOL ELECTION DAY IS HERE!
— Johnson County, Iowa (@JohnsonCountyIA) November 7, 2023
⏰ Poll Hours: 7AM-8PM
📍 Find your polling place: https://t.co/2nQCiPR7t0
🗳️ Full election details: https://t.co/Co1ZOBPl1w
You MUST vote at your precinct and NOT the @jcauditor Office.
It’s Election Day Iowa! Get out and VOTE in your City and School Board elections!
— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) November 7, 2023
Polls are open 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Don’t forget your ID! pic.twitter.com/hrQZrhysyn
It's Election Day! Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find your polling location, sample ballot, and more on our Elections website: https://t.co/XeaTANJFl4 pic.twitter.com/mqVGBp9Qib
— Linn County, IA (@LinnCounty) November 7, 2023
In an unusual move, Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague on Monday asked voters not to vote for fellow council member Laura Bergus.
Teague, who is not up for reelection, said he doesn't support Bergus because she advocated for reducing funding for the Iowa City Police Department.
"Although I love and respect Councilor Bergus, I will not support her by voting for her in Tuesday's election," Teague wrote in a news release Monday. "I disagree with the position Councilor Bergus laid out in a Gazette op-ed on May 9, 2021, titled 'We need to talk about abolishing the police in Iowa City'."
In that piece, Bergus said Iowa City must "reimagine and reach for a future without police" to address systemic problems, including disproportionate arrests of Black and brown people.
Bergus responded to Teague's statement in a 21-part post on Twitter/X Monday. https://twitter.com/lbergus/status/1721628630785159266
Grateful for this context today, as my phone blows up with people asking what's going on with our mayor. I can't answer that, but here's what I can say: 1/21 https://t.co/TTpthk6DOj
— Laura Bergus (@lbergus) November 6, 2023
"Before today, I had believed that @bruceteagueiii, too, knew that differing opinions in a decision-making body is a good thing. Luckily, for the future of our diverse community, one person putting his thumb on the scale is not what decides elections."
Bergus said she still believes Iowa City needs to shift funding from police to other programs, such as the Mobile Crisis Outreach program run by CommUnity.
Bergus, elected as an at-large candidate in 2020, is running against Pauline Taylor, another incumbent, for District A, which includes most of the west side of Iowa City as well as south of Highway 6 on the east side. Taylor was first elected in 2016.