Is the size of the Iola City Council a problem?
Is there a better way to ensure competitive elections, such as abandoning the city’s voting wards?
Or are there other solutions to finding folks willing to run for elective office?
Case in point: the upcoming Nov. 4 election has five seats up for grabs, but only one race is contested.
Two seats, plus the mayor’s, have candidates running unopposed. Another seat will have to be filled by a write-in candidate because nobody filed.
Council members tackled the subject head-on Monday with an hourlong discussion that ended with the consensus that perhaps the biggest issue is getting the public more involved.
MUCH OF THE discussion centered on the city’s voting wards.
Iola is split into four quadrants, with two representatives required from each of the four wards.
“The ward system works really well if you actually represent your ward,” Councilman Jonathon Wells said. “But I don’t think anyone actually represents the wards. We represent the city as a whole.”
He suggested the city drop down to two wards, one for the north half of town, and one from the south, with four representatives from each.
Doing so also would reduce the potential for 1-on-1 races, which also limits participation, Wells contended.
“If Joel and I live in the same ward and Joel’s my friend, I’m probably not going to run against Joel,” Wells explained. “But having multiple spots open at the same time means Joel and I can run and Josiah can run, and none of us are running against each other.
“If you see more open slate elections, they tend to be more positive,” Wells added. “You talk about what you want to do, and not why others are bad.”
Councilman Nich Lohman was more supportive of the ward system.
“I’m more likely to hear from people who live near me,” Lohman said.
Councilwoman Joelle Shallah weighed the pros and cons of the ward system.
