Three-term Perry Mayor Jay Pattee announced at Monday night’s meeting of the Perry City Council that he will not be a candidate in the Nov. 7 regular city election.
“I’ve made it clear a number of times,” Pattee told the council, “that I won’t be running for mayor, so that means that somebody between now and Sept. 21 has to turn in signatures to run for mayor.”
The period for filing nomination papers for mayor and city council positions across Dallas County begins Monday, Aug. 28 and 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.
Dallas County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Julia Helm said all nomination papers must now be filed in the county auditor’s office at 210 N. 10th St. in Adel. Candidates for city offices can no longer file nomination papers with the respective city clerk.
Pattee said a stable succession in the mayor’s position has been one of his priorities, but “of all the things I’ve done as mayor, it seems to be the one that I’m failing miserably at.”
He encouraged the five council members surrounding him at the conference table to consider running for his office, saying any of the members “would make a great mayor. It makes sense to me that it would be somebody from council because of the experience that you bring to the job.”
Pattee said there “is another option, and that is to bring somebody in who’s totally green to city government. More or less they would be a mayor in training, if you will, and they would benefit from the wisdom and the votes of the council.”
He said the main thing that makes a mayor strong is having a voice and an opinion, making sure people know it and making sure to get the information out and build a consensus on important issues.
“I’m just reaching out there and saying, ‘I hope somebody will step forward and make that commitment,'” Patte said, noting “it might be nice to have some younger blood on the council. It would be wonderful if a young person was willing to step up and maybe take notes as a council person and maybe, who knows? maybe that person would be mayor in a few years. I think there have been times on council when we could use a better gender balance, and we could use just a smaller average age.”
Along with Pattee’s mayoral seat, the seats of at-large City Councilperson John Andorf and second ward City Councilperson Dr. Randy McCaulley are up for election in November.
Helm said candidates must live in their wards but can be voted on by all voters in the city. The term of office for the Perry mayor is two years, and the city council terms are four years.
Helm also outlined the November election opportunities in the other Dallas County cities:
In Adel the office of mayor and two at-large council seats are up for election for the two-year term for mayor and the four-year terms for council. Signatures of at least 25 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Bouton the office of mayor and five at-large council seats are up for election, each a two-year term. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Dallas Center the office of mayor and two at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Dawson the office of mayor and five at-large council seats are up for election for two-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In DeSoto the office of mayor and three at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Dexter the offices of three at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Granger the office of mayor and two at-large council seats are up for election, with a two-year term for mayor and four-year terms for council. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Linden the office of mayor and two at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Minburn the office of mayor and three at-large council seats are up for election. There is also one vacant at-large council seat to be filled for two years. The term of office for mayor and the at-large council terms are four years each. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Redfield the office of mayor and two at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Van Meter the offices of three at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
In Waukee the offices of three at-large council seats are up for election. The term of office is four years. Signatures of at least 25 eligible electors required on nomination petitions.
In Woodward the offices of three at-large council seats are up for election for four-year terms. Signatures of at least 10 eligible electors are required on nomination petitions.
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 e-mail at kim.owen@dallascountyiowa.gov.
Gee, so much for reporting news “first, fast and accurately.” Our local radio station has no mention of this story whatsoever.