OTTUMWA — Bill Hoffman Jr. needed to do more research to make an informed decision. Now, he appears ready to change his mind.
Once again, the Ottumwa City Council discussed eliminating the city's primary election practice during Tuesday's meeting at the Bridge View Center. No action was taken on the matter, but will likely be up for a vote at the Feb. 18 meeting.
Hoffman, who wanted to bring it up for this meeting following a budget work session last week, reasoned with other members on why he would change his mind. "Oddly enough, voter turnout doesn't play a huge role for me," Hoffman said. "But I want to be a responsible person with taxpayer money.
There's also a short window to run for council or mayor. Campaign material is expensive. "I asked a few people, and some of the reasons they didn't want to run was the financial (commitment).
I just believe it's not a cost we need to incur, but it will also give candidates a little bigger window to campaign and give the community a better chance to get to know all the candidates." To Hoffman's point, low turnout has plagued primary elections for at least the last decade. In two special elections last fall, including one to fill a council vacancy, the cost to the city was over $11,000, for just over 1,000 votes combined.
Hoffman, Cara Galloway and Cyan Bossou all voted down the ordinance to eliminate the primary last year. Galloway did not explain her stance Tuesday, and Bossou has since been replaced by Dan Reid, who offered hi.