Monday afternoon was the deadline for candidates to file for inclusion on the April 2023 ballot, and Waterloo voters will see its largest number of contested races in recent memory.

The race for Waterloo mayor will see incumbent Tom Smith go up against current Waterloo Alderman  Stan Darter. 

Smith, a former Waterloo alderman, has held the mayor’s seat since 2007.

Darter has been a member of the Waterloo City Council since 2015, serving as Ward 3 alderman.

Since both candidates filed at the same time, a lottery will be held Dec. 21 to determine name placement on the ballot. 

Each of the four seats with terms expiring next year will see a contest in the Waterloo aldermanic races, with only one incumbent seeking re-election.

Five people will vie for the Ward 3 seat to be vacated by Darter – Jason Goff, Jason R. Jones Sr., Joshua Pershbacher, Steve Poettker and former alderman Jeff Vogt have all submitted the required paperwork to run for this office. Vogt is the longtime owner of JV’s Downtown Bar & Grill in Waterloo.

In a press release sent to the paper Monday, Jones said he has “heard a common theme from residents that they do not feel adequately respected or represented. I am the candidate that will gladly hear citizens’ voices, speak boldly on their behalf, and do the work necessary to give the people of Ward 3 the infrastructure, facilities, programs, and services they deserve.”

Amy Grandcolas – who is president of Waterloo Citizens for a Pool – and Joel Vogt are seeking to fill a vacancy in Ward 1 created by the recent resignation of Steve Notheisen, who moved out of the area.

Three people – Dennis Bullock, Gary Most and Justin Stephens – are running for the Ward 4 seat currently held by longtime alderman Clyde Heller, who is not seeking re-election. Most is a current member of the Waterloo School Board but is not seeking re-election for that office. 

The only incumbent in Waterloo running for alderman is Jim Hopkins in Ward 2. He will be challenged by Andrew Biffar.

Waterloo City Clerk Mechelle Childers and Waterloo City Treasurer Brad Papenberg will run unopposed in April.

There will be two seats on April’s ballot for Waterloo Park District Board. The terms for Shelby Mathes Sr. and former board president Kevin Hahn expire in April. Hahn resigned earlier this year when he moved out of the area.  

Mathes confirmed he is seeking a new term and newcomers Lance West, Mary Gardner and Alan Mitan have also decided to run.

In Columbia, five seats in the city’s four aldermanic wards are on the ballot – although there are only two contested races.

Incumbent Alderman Jay Riddle is being challenged for his Ward I seat by Paula Hutchinson, wife of former Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson.

In Ward II, Lauren Nobbe is looking to unseat incumbent Kevin Martens for a four-year term.

Also in Ward II, newly-appointed Alderman Michael Lawlor is running unopposed for the two-year “unexpired term” created by the resignation of Mark Roessler in October.

Aldermen Jeff Huch and Steve Holtkamp will run unopposed in Wards III and IV, respectively.

In local school board races, nine candidates are seeking four spots in Waterloo.

Three of four incumbents will be on the ballot for re-election to the Waterloo Board of Education. 

Current board president Lori Dillenberger, secretary Kim Ahne and Jo Ellen “Jodi” Burton are looking to keep a spot on the board. As previously noted, Most will end his tenure after the current term.

Challengers for school board seats in Waterloo are Lloyd Jardon, Nathan Mifflin, Amanda Propst, Edwin Luedeman, Dawn Burns and Joshua Kurth. 

In Columbia, only one incumbent of three – current school board vice president Lisa Schumacher – is seeking re-election. 

Current board secretary Tammy Mitchell-Hines and board member Scott Middelkamp are not running, leaving both Kelly Meurer and Naureen Frierdich unopposed.  

In Valmeyer, Andrea Blackwell and Brad Edler will continue their service on the school board and will be joined by Kristine Voelker on the ballot.

There are only three candidates for four seats in Valmeyer as current board president Virginia Rusteberg and board member Robert Frierdich did not file candidate petitions.

Also in Valmeyer, current village board members Kyle Duffy, Tonya Mitchell and Henry “Butch” Ford are seeking re-election. 

Each will run unopposed.