All City Council races contested; Mayors unopposed

The slates have been finalized for the November General Election and races for open positions have developed in both Clear Lake City Council positions, as well as those in Ventura.

In the Clear Lake At-Large City Council race, incumbent Gary Hugi and former City Council representative Dana Brant will face off.  Hugi, who is retired, will be seeking his second term in office.  Brant served as the Council’s representative from Ward One from 2012 to 2016.  He was forced to seek re-election in Ward Three due to redistricting created by the most recent census.  The new boundaries placed the one-term incumbent in a race with another one-term representative, Jim Boehnke.  Boehnke was the winner in a tight race.  Brant is self-employed.

Tony Nelson is seeking re-election as representative of the Second Ward.  Nelson was elected in 2010 to serve a four-year term on the Council representing the residents of Ward 2.  He is currently serving his second term.  He will be challenged by Bennett Smith, an instructor in history and political science at North Iowa Area Community College, along with Ben Smith, distribution supervisor for Atlantic Bottling Coca-Cola in Mason City. (A formal challenge has been submitted to election officials regarding Ben Smith’s legal name.  See story on this page). In Ventura, incumbents Crystal Meints and Brian Vaage have filed nomination papers, along with Pete Cash, a member of the Ventura Fire Department.

Mayors of both communities - Nelson Crabb in Clear Lake and Lynn Benson in Ventura, are running unopposed for re-election.

Crabb will be seeking his fourth term in office, while Benson is finishing up his first full term.