Candidates file for April election

Monday marked the final day candidates could file for the municipal elections in April.

Most of Monroe County will see a relatively uneventful election season, with the exception of one city. 

Waterloo
Waterloo will have no contested races at the city or school board level, though it will have one for the park district. 

Mayor Tom Smith will be running unopposed for his third term. Former Waterloo fire chief Mark “Yogi” Yeager had explored a mayoral run but ultimately decided against filing.

Also running uncontested are Waterloo City Clerk Barbara Pace and Treasurer Brad Papenberg. 

Additionally, aldermen in all four wards will not face opposition. Steve Notheisen (Ward I), Jim Hopkins (Ward II), Stan Darter (Ward III) and Clyde Heller (Ward IV) are seeking another term. 

“It’s good to see the people of Waterloo have faith in the administration,” Notheisen said during Monday’s city council meeting. “We’re keeping people happy and doing our job.”

For Waterloo School Board, there are four seats open and four candidates hoping to fill them.

Three of those candidates – Lori Dillenberger, Gary Most and JoEllen (Jodi) Burton – are incumbents. The final candidate, Kim Ahne, seeks to replace Valerie Baxmeyer, who is not seeking re-election. 

For the Waterloo Park District Board, Kevin Hahn and Shelby Mathes Sr. will run unopposed for four-year terms.

Stephen Mitchell, Michael Nolte and Gina Pfund are vying for one seat that will be a two-year term.

Columbia
Conversely, Columbia will see plenty of excitement. Three of the four city council seats and all four school board seats are contested. 

In the aldermanic race, Ward I Alderman Steve Reis will face a challenge from Jay Riddle. Ward II Alderman Kevin Martens will run against Harold R. McCarty Jr. Finally, incumbent Steve Holtkamp and challenger Patrick McDermott will run for a seat representing Ward IV. 

Jeff Huch will be unopposed in his re-election bid to represent Ward III. 

The Columbia School Board has nine candidates running for four seats. 

Incumbents Scott Middelkamp and Tammy Hines will be vying for re-election for full four-year terms. Middelkamp represents an incorporated part of the city while Hines represents an unincorporated part. 

Other candidates from incorporates areas seeking full terms are Jeremy Donald, Tyson Search, Cress Morr and Lisa Schumacher.

The other unincorporated candidate running for a full term is Phillip Taylor. 

Citizens may vote for no more than two candidates from incorporated areas in the election. 

There will also be a vote to fill a two-year unincorporated seat. Incumbent Ted Schrader will face Greg Meyer for that seat. 

Randy Simmonds is not seeking re-election. 

Valmeyer
Valmeyer will have no contested races at any level. 

Kyle Duffy, Matthew Collet and Tanya Mitchell will run for re-election as village trustees.

Valmeyer’s school board has Andrea Blackwell, Virginia Rusteberg, Brad Edler and Robert Frierdich all running unopposed.

Current school board president Zoe Ann Schwarze and vice president Kim Franke will not seek re-election. Edler and Frierdich seek to replace them, with Blackwell and Rusteberg being incumbents. 

The final local election for Valmeyer residents is for library district trustees. Dana Phillips, Julie Williams and Angela Siburt, all incumbents, are running for re-election. 

Hecker
Hecker residents will have to choose between four candidates for three village trustee spots.

Deanna Louveau, Richard W. Happel, Douglas Van Buren and Trisha Maddox are vying for seats on the village board.

Maeystown
Maeystown will also have no contested races. 

John Valentine is running for village president.

Claire Beck, Carmen Lewis and David Braswell are running for the three open village trustee spots. 

Fults
Like Maeystown, Fults will see no contested races, as only incumbents are running. 

Merrill Prange is running for village president and Ronald Rodenberg is seeking re-election as village clerk.

On the village board of trustees, Debra Rodenberg, Jim Davis, Sue Davis and Pam Rippelmeyer are seeking re-election. 

The consolidated election takes place on Tuesday, April 2. 

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James Moss

James is an alumni of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he graduated summa cum laude with degrees in mass communications and applied communications studies. While in school, he interned at two newspapers and worked at a local grocery store to pay for his education. When not working for the Republic-Times, he enjoys watching movies, reading, playing video games and spending time with his friends.
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