Oskaloosa Voters Say No Thanks To “The Solution”

Dave Krutzfeldt (left) and Aaron Ver Steeg (right) congratulate each other Tuesday night on being re-elected.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The voters of Oskaloosa and Mahaska County made their way to their local polling locations on Tuesday. In Oskaloosa, the stage had been set for what amounted to a referendum on a proposed regional airport project.

Five candidates, funded at least in part by a political action committee, or PAC, offered their “solution” to what they perceived to be the problem, while for the most part, the incumbent members of the council asked voters to allow them to continue on the path the city has been on for the past four years.

The polls closed at 8pm and the incumbent candidates starting filing in with their supporters. CRI was busy broadcasting the evening live on MCG Channel 12. Missing from the crowd was “The Solution” candidates, although some of their supporters made their way downtown to catch the results in person.

After the numbers started coming in, it became apparent that Oskaloosa 1st Ward Councilmember Aaron Ver Steegh (219) had defeated “Solution” candidate Lauren McMahon (142) and candidate Dave Allgood (22) for the seat.

On winning his re-election bid, Ver Steeg said, “I can’t say I’m really surprised.” adding, “I think any time you run as a pack, in a town this size, you’re asking for trouble. I think the people look at a pack, and they say, you know, if I vote for all four of those people, or five of them, they’re going to control the city. They was running on one thing, the airport, and there’s more to running a city than just the airport.”

I asked Ver Steeg if he took Tuesday night’s vote as the citizens agreeing with what the council has been doing? “Yes. Absolutely.”
Ver Steeg thanked those that voted and supported him during his campaign for re-election.

Dave Krutzfeldt was watching as the numbers continued to stream in and it became more apparent that he would be re-elected to office. There was one more ward to be tallied yet when I spoke with him.

“I was kind of thinking my magic number was going to be right around 1000 votes, and so I’m very pleased that I got that with one more ward to go. Honestly, my heart is more into figuring out what kind of a council I’ve got to work with and what’s next,” said Krutzfeldt.

“We’ve got so many things that are going right, I really want to keep that momentum going, and so I’m very hopeful for the incumbents, because, basically, we are a well oiled machine.”

“I’ve been trying to tell people that will listen, it’s really all about jobs. We want to make Oskaloosa an exciting place to live. So to do that, we need to have good jobs, but we also need to have a lot of activities and things that make Oskaloosa interesting,” said Krutzfelt.

“We want to make it a great place to live, and I think we’re doing the right things,” Krutzfeldt said in closing.

Tom Walling, At-Large Councilmember, was also re-elected, and shared a few thoughts just moments after an emotional huge with his wife.

“I think it’s very positive for Oskaloosa, and I’m very proud,” said Walling. “We think we’ve got a good plan and we want to stick with it. The one issue about the airport, we don’t like it either, but it’s just one issue. Oskaloosa’s got a lot of other things to work on.”

Walling thanked those who supported him, as well, during his re-election campaign.

Wyatt Russell was an unknown, for the most part, before the election started, but has emerged as a candidate that appears to be cut from nearly the same cloth as the current council, earning praise from the current council members, and also some advice from them along the way, as well.

“I definitely got my name out there,” said Russell. “When I went into this whole experience, I wasn’t looking to win. It would have been nice, obviously.”

Russell saw this as a way to let others know that he’s wanting to be “in more of a leadership role.”

“I’ve learned a tremendous amount,” said Russell. “The current city council has been absolutely phenomenal.”

Russell was one of those candidates that joined the incumbents on a WHO Radio show in response to “The Solution” candidates’ appearance just days before, in regard to the regional airport. Russell learned much from that experience, and even more when he took to the air with another talk show host on the same station later that day. “Mr. Conway, your show was very, very interesting. I will never be on it again, that’s for sure.”

“I think this will send a very strong message to Simon that our community rallied around everyone who has openly supported this airport,” Russell said in closing.

Russell did say that all the experience has helped to make him a better person and candidate in the future.

Oskaloosa City Election Unofficial Results

For Oskaloosa Mayor
*Dave Krutzfeldt -1451
Denny Doud – 719

Oskaloosa 1st Ward
Dave Allgood – 22
Lauren McMahan – 142
*Aaron Ver Steeg – 219

Oskaloosa 3rd Ward
Jennifer Doland – 227
*Doug Yates – 395

Oskaloosa At-Large
Shaun Smith – 658
*Tom Walling – 1187
Jimmy Carter – 755
*Scottie Moore – 1355
Wyatt Russell – 245