Kirkwood wins Riverside special election

Christine Kirkwood has won the special election for the open seat on the Riverside City Council. According to the unofficial results released Tuesday night, Kirkwood received 105 of the 194 votes cast, or 54 percent. Samuel Torrey received 73 votes, or 38 percent. James Strabala received 8 percent of the total with 15 votes. There was one write-in vote cast, but the line beside the write-in oval was left blank.

Riverside has 733 eligible voters, meaning that 26 percent of those eligible to vote did so. Six votes were cast via absentee ballot, whereas 188 were cast at city hall.

The results of the election will not be official until the votes are canvassed next Tuesday.

Kirkwood was appointed to the council on June 6 to fill a vacancy created by the death of councilor Betty Kaalberg on May 4. Kirkwood has served as a councilor for four council meetings.

Kirkwood?s seat will be up for election again in three months. Regardless of the outcome, Kirkwood?s term will last at least until the end of December. That would have been different had there been no special election between the time of Kirkwood?s appointment and the November election. An appointee?s term ends as soon as the election is canvassed, and not at the end of the year. So if the appointee loses the election, the winner takes over once the official results are announced.

Kirkwood said she was humbled by all the people who worked for her election.

?I have a lot to live up to and a lot of learning to do,? said Kirkwood. ?I think people will be surprised at how many complicated decisions come before the council.?

Kirkwood said her civic involvement goes back decades, well before her appointment to the council in June. However, it was not until this year that she thought very much about politics.

?I had never considered myself electable until the appointment,? said Kirkwood. ?That?s when I thought, ?This is what I was meant to do.? I?m retired, and I have more time to do it.?

Riverside has welcomed many new businesses in recent years, and Kirkwood expects that to continue. She said that will be one of the most important issues the council faces.

?I really believe that there are going to be new businesses moving to town,? said Kirkwood. ?I don?t think we want to see astronomical growth like North Liberty?s. People need time to discuss and look at those things first. People have to think about it and ask themselves questions such as, ?What?s the parking situation? Who?s going to use it???

The November election is three months away and Kirkwood plans to be on the ballot again.

?Yes, I plan to run again in November,? she said. ?I wouldn?t have answered that question a few days ago.?

In an interview Wednesday, Torrey said he was pleased with the campaign he ran. He said he was glad it was a clean race among the three candidates.

?I appreciate all the help I got from the people, and I appreciate their votes,? said Torrey.

Torrey said he hasn?t made up his mind about running in the November election.

?A lot can happen between now and then,? said Torrey.

Strabala could not be reached for comment.