With the deadline for filing nomination papers for November’s city elections little more than two weeks away, candidates are beginning to emerge for various elected offices in the Perry area.
Tuesday night’s Perry City Council meeting saw two emergent candidates, with at-large council member John Andorf announcing his intention to seek the office of Perry mayor that will be vacated by Mayor Jay Pattee, who is retiring after six terms in office.
Two-term council member Dr. Randy McCaulley also told his fellow council members he will seek reelection for his second-ward seat.
“Tomorrow I’m going to Adel, I’m happy to say,” Andorf said, “to turn in my nomination forms for mayor.”
Andorf was elected in November 2013 to the at-large city council seat vacated by one-term member Jenny Eklund. A Waterloo native, Andorf started working at the Woodward Resource Center in 1973, rising from caseworker to administrative assistant to superintendent and eventually to treatment program administrator.
He held the administrator’s position at Woodward for more than 30 years and supervised a team of 125 people, including professionals, paraprofessionals and support staff. The job involved a variety of management and policy decisions of the hospital, including working with state and federal inspectors and helping develop priorities within the resource center’s $50 million budget.
Andorf retired from Woodward in 2010. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in counseling from Drake University.
The candidate has lived in Perry since 1977. He and his wife, Linda Andorf, have three adult children. Linda Andorf, a member of the Perry Community School District Board of Directors, taught special-needs students in the Perry public school system for many years before retiring.
“I’ve had the privilege and honor for working for the citizens of Perry,” Andorf told the council Tuesday, “and working with the fine group of fellow council people as well as employees of the city of Perry for the last four years. Without that experience, I don’t think I would have run for mayor, but I feel like that has helped prepare me for running for the next step, higher office. If I’m elected, I look forward to working with the same people, hopefully, and also, more importantly, working for the citizens of Perry and serving them.”
In seeking the mayor’s seat, Andorf will give up his own at-large seat on the city council, which becomes open to election in November. The deadline is Sept. 21 for filing nomination papers with at least 25 signatures from registered voters residing in Perry.
Dr. Randy McCaulley moved to Perry in 2001 to take up the position of superintendent of schools in the Perry Community School District. He retired in 2009 after a 33-year career in education, moving from teacher and coach to administrator.
McCaulley has a doctoral degree in education from the University of South Dakota, a specialist degree in education from Truman State University, a master’s degree in physical education administration from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s degree in arts from the University of Northern Iowa.
McCaulley has been married 41 years to his wife, Marsha McCaulley, a retired special education teacher at Des Moines North High School. They have three adult children and five grandchildren.
The period for filing nomination papers for mayor and city council positions across Dallas County runs until 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21. In order to get one’s name on the Perry ballot, a resident must first collect signatures on nomination petitions from at least 25 eligible electors of the city.
Nomination packets are available in the office of the city clerk or the Dallas County Auditor’s office. They can also be downloaded from the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.
For more information, contact Kim Owen at 515-993-6950 or by email at kim.owen@dallascountyiowa.gov.
