Meghann Foster wins mayoral election after running unopposed
City Councilor Meghann Foster wins the Coralville mayoral race after running without opposition. Foster said that the time not spent campaigning has given her a chance to gain a new perspective of the Coralville community.
Contributed photo of Coralville Mayor elect Meghann Foster.
November 2, 2021
Meghann Foster will be Coralville’s next mayor.
Foster, a member of the city council since 2016, ran unopposed. She received 1,829 votes in the unofficial vote total on Tuesday night. There were 79 write-in votes.
Foster has worked closely with outgoing mayor John Lundell.
“I have a pretty good idea of what the job entails,” Foster told The Daily Iowan on Oct. 27. “I plan to work closely with him in the coming weeks just to get some of his perspectives and learn some more about the parts of the job that the council doesn’t see at the end of the day.”
Foster said that running unopposed has given her the ability to spend time getting to know the community from a new perspective that otherwise would’ve been spent campaigning.
Coralville City Councilor Laurie Goodrich said that Foster will bring her sense of innovation to her term as mayor.
“I look forward to continuing with the work we’ve done in Coralville, we’ve had a great team,” Goodrich said.
Foster got the official news of her election at Coralville’s Backpocket Brewery in a joint viewing party with fellow Coralville council members Goodrich and Hai Huynh, who were both reelected to the council on Tuesday night, as well as newly elected council member Mike Knudson.
RELATED: Three Coralville City Council seats filled in at-large election
Among the attendants was state Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, a longtime friend of Foster and her husband for over a decade, and supporter of Foster.
“My wife and I were part of the group that heavily encouraged her to run,” Jacoby said. “I was darn glad to have her on the city council, and now mayor.”
Mike Gerholdt, supporter and friend of Foster and her family, said he was excited when Foster announced her candidacy.
“She’s going to be a great mayor,” Gerholdt said. “She’s active, getting out, meeting people. It’s what Coralville needs.”
Foster’s term begins in January 2022.
“Coralville is a growing town, and it needs someone to be out there and think about what’s going on,” Gerholdt said. “And [Foster] will do that.”