Election Day is less than two weeks away, with a number of local city and school board races to be decided.
Iola voters will get an opportunity to meet their respective candidates at a meet-and-greet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday at The Watershed Collective (formerly Derrryberry Breadery), 20 W. Jackson Ave.
Candidates for USD 257, Iola City Council and Allen Community College’s Board of Trustees have been invited to attend.
School boards incumbents Robin Griffin-Lohman, John Masterson and John Wilson are being challenged by Nathan Cunningham and Lisa Wicoff.
The Iola City Council will have one contested race, with incumbent Nich Lohman facing Myra Gleason in Iola’s Third Ward, which covers the southwest quadrant of the city.
Former Councilman Mark Peters is the only candidate on the ballot in Ward 2, the northeast quadrant, to fill the seat held by Joel Wicoff, who opted not to run again. Jeremiah Ivy is the only candidate seeking to represent Iola’s Fourth Ward, in the southeast part of the town. He is looking to fill the seat of Benedikt Middleton, who is not running for re-election.
A write-in candidate will be needed to represent Iola’s First Ward, which covers the northwest part of town. Incumbent Joisah D’Albini is not running for re-election, and no one filed for the seat.
Mayor Steve French is unopposed in his re-election bid.
The Allen Community College Board of Trustees members up for re-election, Becky Nilges, Jenny Spillman and Jessica Thompson, are unopposed in their re-election bids.
Election Day is Nov. 4. Advance voting opened Oct. 15.
