After a close election, Ottumwa’s mayor-elect shared his thoughts on his narrow win and his vision for the City of Bridges when he takes office in January.
Ben Foote defeated Brenda Case by 16 votes in a race that he says was too close for comfort.
“I would have loved it [the margin] be bigger,” Foote said. “At the same time it shows that the people that did come out and vote were voting the way they thought would be best…I’m ready to move forward. We’re going to start working and planning in the direction we need to go.”
Part of Foote’s campaign was working on reducing Ottumwan’s property taxes. He talked about what he wants to do at the start of his term to reach that goal and others.
“One of the things I definitely want to do in the first 90-100 days is to start inviting these businesses that have decided not to come [to Ottumwa] and see if those doors are still open so we can bring them here,” Foote said. “And the other is what kind of relationship building to I need to do for each of the [city] department heads so we can work together and [be] the team we need to be.”
The Wapello County Board of Supervisors is expected to canvass the recent election results during their meeting on November 12th.
Brenda Case can ask for a recount of the votes from Tuesday’s election. According to the Wapello County Auditor’s office, Case has not sought a recount and has until November 13 at 5:00 PM to request one.
Editor’s note: The date to request a recount in the original story was incorrect and has been changed.
