There are still some races to be decided following Tuesday’s City Elections in the KJAN listening area, that’s because in some cases where there were Write-In candidates, there were ties in the vote that must be determined by the Board of Supervisors. In Atlantic, there were no surprises in the candidates who won, but a Public Measure designed to pump more money into the Parks and Rec Department, failed. A proposed 3-percent increase in the Hotel-Motel Tax in Atlantic was defeated by more than 53% of the vote, 420 No to 359 Yes votes. Voter turnout in Atlantic was slightly more than 16-percent. Elsewhere around Cass County, there were three seats available on the City Council in Cumberland. One of the seats ended-up in a tie and will have to be decided by the Supervisors. Mike Hill received 29 votes and incumbent Michael Martin received 26 votes to ensure their seat on the Cumberland City Council, but incumbent Gary Cooper and challenger Darrin Hardisty both had 23 votes. In Griswold, Julianne M. Adams and Carol Preston were elected to fill two seats on the City Council. Write-in Thomas Moore garnered 21 votes, far shy of making a challenge to the candidates who had filed for election.

In Lewis, Ryan Lockwood defeated Natalie Olson-Everett for a Vacancy seat on the City Council that will end in 2019. Lockwood had 86 votes to Olson-Everett’s 16 votes. Also in Lewis, incumbent Ryan Archibald and Don Cohrs were elected to 4-year terms on the City Council, during an election that saw six candidates vying for two seats. Archibald garnered 81 votes. Cohrs had 38. Public Measure B in Lewis, dealing with a levy to provide money for Library services, failed by a vote of 51-to 42.

In Marne, there were five seats open on the City Council, and six candidates. The winners were incumbents Lori Holste and Angela Redler, along with Mark Opbroek, Wayne Preister and Jericho Schmitt. Public Measure E, which said the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds could be used for “Any lawful purpose,” passed in Marne by a vote of 22-to 12. Public Measure D, which changed the term of the Mayor and Council to 4-years, also passed. The vote was 19 Yes, 16 No. In Massena, a Write-in, Phil Przychodzin, won the title of Mayor, with 54 votes. There were 13 other write-in’s.  No one had filed for the seat. Public Measure F in Massena, again changing the use of LOST funds to be used for “Any lawful purpose,” was narrowly defeated by a vote of 45-to 42.

And, in the City of Wiota, where there were three seats open on the City Council, incumbent Jeff Lillard received 15 votes toward his re-election. Charles Bechtold, a Write-in, receive 7 votes, which was good enough to place him on the Council. The third seat is up for grabs though, and will be determined by the Board of Supervisors because it was a tie vote. Write-In’s Deanna Spry and Lamar Spies both had just two votes, meaning neither one had enough to secure the final seat on the Council