MASON CITY – Doug Nelson received enough votes Wednesday night at a Special Nominating Convention to select a candidate for Cerro Gordo County Supervisor District 2. The meeting was held in the Boardroom at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse and was open to the public.
Nelson, of Clear Lake, got 8 out of the 13 delegate votes. Nominee was selected by seated delegates according to Iowa Code and Iowa Democratic Party Rules.
“A great Civics lesson for everyone interested in politics. 13 Delegates at the Special Nominating Convention chose the candidate that they feel will best represent this rural district 2 in Cerro Gordo County for the November Election for Supervisor,” Cerro Gordo Democrats said later.
Nelson will face Republican Casey Callanan, also of Clear Lake, on the November ballot.
Nelson got just 71 votes – good for fourth place – in the June 3rd primary election. Adam Wedmore had 159, Michael J Grandon had 158, and Swaledale Mayor John Drury had 88.
“Any of these individuals would be a fine candidate,” Cerro Gordo County Democratic Party Chairman John Stone said after the primary.
Drury said that his remarks to the delegates “fell on deaf ears and 8 of the 13 delegates decided that Doug Nelson would be the Democratic Party nominee. In Mr. Nelson’s speech, he asked the delegates to disregard electability and support him.”
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LVS, I am soooo happy you really told off Mr. “9th & N. Adams”, thank you sir. You are so right about what will come down on Mr. 9th if he gets up nerve enough to say that to Mr. Blodgett. If Mr. 9th tries to shoot off his mouth to Todd, he just might get that mouth shot off. Oh my, I really like how you say things.
Your parents were first cousins, weren’t they?
Philosophus gets nod from Iowa Sucks to spark up that joint and pass it around.
I wanna be one of those guys who “give nods” to people running.
This is democracy??? What an affront to the Founding Fathers. How many drinks did Stone consume before the meeting?
Congratulations Doug.
Okay, setting aside the obvious disparities in the democratic process itself, one could surmise the delegates feel Mr. Nelson has the best chances against Callanan in the long run ($$$???)…and that is assuming the delegates aren’t acting out of corrupted interests in favor of the Repubs. (Is this being alleged by any of the other candidates?) MOVING FORWARD and assuming conspiracy is incorrect…let’s see what Mr. Nelson’s policies and plans are for the County; that’s what counts.
Philosophus- funny you should ask. I reached out to some of the delegates on behalf of a candidate and I was told by 5 of them that they were going to vote for doug because they knew him for a long time and were friends with him- non even wanted to know what the other candidates stood for, they just said they were gonna vote for doug because he was their friend. I think the delegates just made themselves a laughing stock. Callanan is goin to smash doug in november.
You didn’t reach out to me apparantly, unless you’re Rich Finstad and sent out a form letter in support of Grandon. Doug and I are very good friends and have been for quite some time. I don’t vote based on friendships, I vote on ideas and innovation. That’s what Adam has, and that’s why I voted for him last night. Doug knows and I told him and he respects that, but we decided to follow the Iowa rules, where something like this hasn’t happened in over 50 years. Perhaps some changing is in…
I wonder if any of the other candidates are going to splinter off from the Dems and run anyway? If I were Adam Wedmore I would be contemplating my affiliation to the Democratic Party right about now…at least this local chapter. It’s pointless to hold a public primary if the delegates have already made up their minds. If I were Ken Kline the Auditor, I’d think of asking for compensation by the Democrats for the expenses involved consulting the people for their opinion.
I was told that there were no additional expenses to the county based on this convention. (However, I suppose that the lights were on for an additional hour or so.) Everything done with the auditor’s office was during regular work hours or were volunteer time.
@Mediator-As I said, congratulations Doug. I know you worked hard to achieve this, although, I really don’t know why you would want to sign up for all the abuse you are going to get.
LVS, if I could vote for Doug I would, I hope he don’t get abused, do not think he will. Maybe, tho. Only way in my humble is if this Callahan kid brings in Dr. Blodgett’s Republitard son, the one that does drugs. Toddy boy, well he use to work for Lee Atwater, a real nut-kicker, done in Dukakis. I know a man run against Gary Blodgett he could not believe the mountain of money doc thru against him, no way he could of won. Doug, you watch out, them Blodgett’s can play real dirty.
@9th=You are paranoid against the Blodgett’s and are doing nothing but spreading rumors. Stand up in front of Todd and shoot off your mouth.
I say this all as a person who is still voting for you Doug. It’s in the interest of fairness and Democratic Process. Tis’ true, Democracy can be a form of tyranny, and perhaps there is wisdom in the delegate’s choice…but at face value, even you can appreciate the apparent contradiction to the party’s namesake…can you not? My point about Ken Kline is that if the party is going to reject the opinion of the people, perhaps there’s no need to conduct the survey. Is reform needed?
Doug I meant conducting the primary voting itself, when the polls were open. That’s the recompense, I was referring to. Surely there was expense and effort made by the County (taxpayers) to conduct the primary voting, and why shouldn’t Ken Kline demand payment for that if the delegates are going to ignore the outcome of the democratic process…something I believe Mr.Kline in some shape or form, swears to uphold? In another country, there would be uproar for such an outcome…true?
Mr. Kline follows Iowa law meticulously and the fact is that if no candidate gets 35%, then there is no winner. The one with the most popular votes might have been different with fewer running.
The candidates knew this, or should have, when they signed up and took out papers from the auditor’s office. Ken Kline does a great job of answering any questions put to him.
Since the reps had to vote anyway, your argument doesn’t stand. No additional costs, even if it wasn’t the law.
This isn’t about Ken Kline. It’s about holding a primary vote (open to registered party members) and then disregarding the results. Why I mention Ken Kline is figuratively, as he may want to save his department from wasting their time and money. The real issue is whether holding a popular vote primary should be allowed to be nullified or negated by delegates, and whether County resources should be used for Democrats and Republicans to conduct what amounts to a meaningless private poll.
Let me try to be more clear. Nothing was disregarded. This is the law of the state of Iowa.
Nobody won the primary because they didn’t reach the threshold of 35%. The Auditor’s office then advises that the law requires the party to hold the convention. The party did as was required under state law.
The republicans had to do the same thing in some other counties/districts, I’ve heard. It’s common when there are more than 4 candidates, since getting more than 35% is tough with 4.
Sorry, that should say “more than 3” in the above, not “more than 4”. Though that would make it even more difficult.
If you are having any upset over this election requirement, I suggest you contact the Auditor’s office for any additional information.
I’m glad you explained it further but you didn’t specify whether it’s 35% of the total number of registered Democrats eligible in the county, or 35% of the totals who turned out to vote? And you may justify the County’s involvement with the process of conducting the polling, but how do you explain the process of delegates disregarding the numbers and choosing their candidate in a very Republican way? Perhaps the Delegate process is what I’m having trouble understanding or agreeing with.
Actually…what I really have a problem with is the County involved with 2 Party Political Systems at all. I’ll cut to the chase. It’s fine if private political parties want to nominate their candidates, but County Courthouses and Auditors shouldn’t be part of the process, unless those parties pay a fee for use of the Voting equipment and County Employees time and resources. There. I said it. Like I said Doug…this wasn’t about you cinching the nomination.
And Doug, please understand my points are not to disparage your candidacy. My aim is to raise awareness and question whether things can be done in a more enlightened way. At this point, I’m in favor of ending ALL parties and requiring every citizen who seeks public office to run on their own points and merits. The Division Bell strikes regularly each election and people reflexively fill one side of the bleachers or the other. Vikings? Packers? How about Americans and humans?