Victoria Thompson wins Fairfield’s Ward 3 election

FAIRFIELD – Victoria Thompson has won the runoff election to fill the Ward 3 vacancy on the Fairfield City Council.

Thompson and Brian Horsfield were the only two candidates on the ballot for the special election held Tuesday, Sept. 30. Thompson received 115 votes to Horsfield’s 78.

Because this was a special election to fill a vacancy, created by the passing of former council member Judy Ham in June, Thompson will be sworn-in to her new post at the next city council meeting on Oct. 13. Thompson will serve for a little over two years until that seat is up for election again in 2027.

Thompson told The Union that this was the first time she had run for elected office of any kind, and she received a helping hand from the members of her election committee who knew the ins and outs of campaigning. She mentioned that Randy Dillon played an especially important role on her committee.

During this past month of campaigning, Thompson said she fielded a large number of questions about the Walton Lake golf cart bridge, a topic that has evenly split the council between those who wish to pause the project and those who don’t.

“I kept saying, ‘This is Ward 3,’ and it’s not really going to impact you directly unless you golf at Walton Golf Club,” Thompson said. “They had a lot of questions and a lot of misunderstandings that were put out. They didn’t understand that the city owns that property, and the golf course pays rent to the city.”

Thompson’s victory is the latest surprising turn of events that started with the original special election to fill the Ward 3 vacancy held on Sept. 2, where Horsfield was the only name on the ballot in what appeared to be an uncontested race. However, a late write-in campaign on Thompson’s behalf the weekend before the election propelled her into a close second-place finish, and with enough write-in votes going to other candidates, Horsfield did not break the 50 percent threshold. This necessitated a runoff between the top two vote-getters four weeks later.

The Walton Lake golf cart bridge was one of the issues that divided the two candidates, with Horsfield stating both at city council meetings and in interviews with The Union that he opposed the project, and argued the responsibility for the bridge should be turned over to the Walton Club. Thompson, on the other hand, stated that she supported the project and believed the council made the right call when it voted unanimously last spring to have Drish Construction replace the bridge.

The Union reached out to Horsfield for a comment, and he said he was grateful to all who supported his campaign.

“I congratulate Victoria on winning and wish her well,” Horsfield said.

Horsfield said the Walton Lake golf cart bridge is the most divisive issue in his 21 years as a resident of Fairfield, and he’s glad to see it’s concluding.

“Iowa’s ‘public purpose doctrine’ was the central issue motivating my supporters, who, I am happy to say, came from all across the political spectrum that divides our country at this time,” he said. “Unfortunately, the DNR judge decided this constitutional matter fell outside of his jurisdiction, and so this critical issue has not been ruled upon in any court of law. However, the public has spoken in favor of the City in this election, and we must respect that.”

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com