Harris, Iowa — Harris voters have selected a new mayor, but who gets the council chair is still up in the air after an election on Tuesday, December 13th.
According to results from the Osceola County Auditor’s Office, Dean Phillips will be the new mayor, which is not a surprise because he ran unopposed. There were four write-in votes, but Phillips received 47 votes. Former mayor Greg Spaethe had resigned, but then was re-appointed to the mayor post by the council. The citizens filed a petition for an election, and then Spaethe advised the City that he was no longer residing in Harris.
Carol Biggs and Jeff Loring ran for one council chair. But they received 27 votes, each — a tie.
Biggs had been appointed to the council after a vacancy this past summer, but according to City Clerk Holly Wilson, since she was appointed, her name had to be on the next ballot. Jeff Loring’s name was added to the ballot by petition.
According to the Osceola County Auditor’s Office, Biggs’ and Loring’s names will be placed in a hat at the Canvass on Tuesday, December 20th, at 8 a.m., and the Osceola County Board of Supervisors will draw a name for the winner.
