Everybody knows elections happen in the first Tuesday in November. The year 2023 is not a general election year. In O’Brien County it is a year to elect city councils and mayors.
A candidate is required to be an eligible elector in the city when the nomination papers are filed and at the time of the election. Any eligible elector can run for these offices weather or not they are registered to vote. Three things must be true to be an eligible elector: be a United States Citizen, be an Iowa resident and at least 18 years old. There are three things that prohibit being an eligible elector: be a convicted felon without restored voting rights, be currently judged incompetent to vote by a court and cannot claim the right to vote in any other place.
County Auditors in Iowa are also Commissioner of Elections. The Commissioner of Elections is responsible for the operation of each election in its county.
Anyone meeting all qualifications and standards and wanting to run for office can pick up a nomination packet at their own city office or at the O’Brien County Auditor’s office. A packet includes an affidavit of candidacy, nomination petition and, if a candidate under the non-party political organization (NPPO), the completed convention certificate and a filing checklist.
Each candidate must collect signatures on their nomination papers. A minimum of ten (10) eligible elector signatures must be collected on the nomination petition form. That process can already be underway.
The O’Brien County Auditor has designated each respective City Clerk to collect candidate packets. Each candidate must file his or her completed nomination packets to their respective city office. The time for filing begins Monday, August 28, 2023 and ends at 5:00pm Thursday, September 21, 2023. There is no cost to file.
Write-in candidates do not need to file nomination petitions.
Expired offices around O’Brien County: Mayoral terms may be 2 or 4 years. All City Council members serve for 4 years.
Archer: Mayor Nathan Mueller, 2-year term. Council members Aimee Mueller and Steven Meyer.
Calumet: Council members Heath Negus, Tyler Sechler and Kim Messenbrink.
Paullina: Mayor Brenda Ebel Kruse, 2-year term. Council members Jay Jones, Lexi Murphy and Jean Unrau.
Primghar: Mayor Kurt Edwars, 4-year term. Council members Ryan Jenness and Kevin “Buck” Smith.
Sanborn: Mayor Randy Lyman, 2-year term. Council members Tim Devitt, Brian Visser and Aaron Wiekamp.
Sutherland: Council members Bruce Engelke, Patrick Nelson and Chase Cox.