Iowa City voters chose incumbents Bruce Teague and Megan Alter on Tuesday to fill the two contested Iowa City City Council at-large seats.
Councilor Alter and Mayor Teague faced challengers Newman Abuissa and Clara Reynen.
Teague tallied 7,378 votes, or roughly 37 percent of the vote, and Alter earned 6,203 votes, or roughly 31 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting Tuesday night.
As the longest sitting member on the council, Teague entered his first term in 2018. Teague was appointed as mayor in 2020 and has held the position since.
His campaign slogan was “We all belong here,” and he pledged to provide a safe community for marginalized groups and boost access to food, water, and housing.
Alter secured her second term on the council Tuesday. She formerly served as mayor pro tem in 2022. In her time on the council, she’s helped implement fare-free public transit, expand investment in affordable housing, launch eviction prevention initiatives, and establish wage enhancement for child care workers.
Challenger Reynen lost to Alter by 2,581 votes, receiving 3,622, with Abuissa trailing Reynen by 1,032, with 2,590 votes at 18 percent and 13 percent of the vote, respectively.
Results are not yet official.
Teague is reelected to hold third term on city council
Wearing light blue shirts reading “Mayor Bruce Teague for city council” and passing out cookies decorated with his face, family members, friends, and supporters of Teague gathered at Big Grove Brewery on Tuesday night during his watch party with Alter and reappointed District B councilor Shawn Harmsen.
After results came in, Teague spoke and cheered his campaign slogan, “We all belong here,” with upward of 100 attendees.
Throughout his campaign, Teague has put an emphasis on creating more affordable housing and providing benefits for those in need.
“We know that our free busing is something that is great. Some of the funding right now is always up for grabs,” he said. “But how do we ensure that folks that are working nights and weekends also have some opportunities? Groceries are expensive, SNAP benefits are at risk right now. It is unbelievable what the people in this community are facing but I know that together, we’re going to get through it.”
Teague’s mother, Mary Teague, was in attendance supporting her son.
“With him, with me, I know there’s a lot of strength,” Mary Teague said. “I just prayed that we’ll get through it. I accept it, but there’s so much in this world that is in a tough place right now.”
Roger Musala, Teague’s campaign manager, said it has been amazing to work on the campaign with him.
“He’s an easy-going kind of guy,” he said. “He loves the people. The people love Bruce. He’s a great leader, and he has done amazing things for our city. It really brings people together.”
Longtime friend of Teague, Rachel McPherson, who works on the Iowa City Board of Parks and Recreation, said she supports him for his leadership on the council and for being able to work so well with his colleagues.
“I’m so impressed how he’s grown into these mayoral shoes,” she said. “At council meetings, he asks the right questions. And I’ve talked to him personally, and he says, ‘If a vote doesn’t turn out the way I thought it should, I move on.’ He doesn’t have emotion with it, and that’s what I want, curiosity and a team player.”
Teague said being reelected for his third term on council overall feels “awesome and amazing.”
“It really is another opportunity that I feel is necessary for our community because of what we’re facing,” he said. “I think experience, integrity, and relationship that’s been built will make a huge difference in how our city and the people of this community move forward.”
“Campaigning is the easy part:” Alter discusses plans for second term
Alter sported an ear-to-ear grin after finding out she was reelected to the council for her second term.
With family members, friends, and supporters in attendance at her joint watch party with Teague and Harmsen, Alter received the second most votes in the at-large election.
Alter said in her next four years on the city council, she wants to focus on rejuvenating the Sycamore Mall in downtown Iowa City.
“I want to change the landscape and make that area, the Lower East Side, a place where people can buy socks, can buy underwear, can go to a restaurant, and can walk around
where there’s green space, and maybe people can live there,” she said. “We need more housing, and that’s a fantastic place.”
Alter said her heart goes out to challengers Abuissa and Reynen, who fell short in the at-large election, and to Amy Hospodarsky, who lost to Harmsen in the District B election.
“I’ve been there and I did not win the first time I ran,” she said. “You guys need to feel so appreciative of what you have done, because you put yourself out there, you’ve gotten your message out there, and it matters so much, and so that’s something that you need to actually sleep well with and feel good about.”
Councilor Josh Moe was in attendance, supporting all three candidates as they are all colleagues.
“We don’t always vote the same way, but I trust them,” he said. “If they get elected, they’ll continue to do really good work in the city.”
Alter said she is excited to be able to serve on the council for another term.
“I am thrilled, and actually, I’m incredibly humbled,” she said. “I’m so grateful that the city has voted for me and put the confidence in me to serve for another four years. I know that campaigning is the easy part. Now we have to dig in and do the hard work. But for tonight, I’m just super excited that we won, and we won decisively.”
Reynen celebrates campaign with supporters despite city council loss
Librarian, activist, and UI graduate student, Reynen, lost her city council race, trailing behind incumbent Megan Alter by 2,581 votes, according to unofficial votes. Reynen hosted a watch party at the Kitty Corner Social Club in downtown Iowa City, surrounded by roughly 20 friends, campaign volunteers, supporters, and, of course, cats.
The 28-year-old’s campaign focused on affordable housing, public safety in Iowa City, and ensuring artificial intelligence doesn’t threaten the quality of life for citizens in Iowa City. Many voters, particularly students, felt having such a young representative on the council would bode well for the city.
In a speech she gave to the gathering once election results were posted, Reynen thanked and congratulated her campaign team and volunteers on a job well done, holding a cat named Goose in her arms as she spoke.
“Even though it’s discouraging that we didn’t win tonight, that’s OK, because so many of the things that we talked about throughout the campaign got young people involved, got folks to city council meetings, taught people how to make public comments,” Reynen said. “We’ve got to take all the energy that we put into this campaign, and we have to push it forward to make sure that [the people who were elected] are doing what they’re meant to do.”
Reynen’s friend of about three years and fellow activist Uchechi Anomnachi was at the watch party, enjoying food, drinks, and petting roaming cats with some of Reynen’s other supporters. Anomnachi said he felt a lot of good energy in the room during the watch party and felt she ran a great campaign on solid policies.
“I think her interest in developing policies surrounding AI data centers is just really forward thinking, which is exactly what we need right now,” Anomnachi said. “The ability to do that and also look to the future, think about what’s coming down the pike, and be making a plan for those things is important.”
David Sterling, Reynen’s campaign manager, said he is proud of the race they ran, and although Reynen did not win, he believes she still has the right skillset to help Iowa City.
“Clara has the closest ear to the ground in terms of what can address the current political moment,” Sterling said. “Everybody’s going into politics, compromising prematurely. Clara was very simply ready to come in and say, ‘This is what I want to do.’ Clara is not compromised, emotionally or ethically, by the notion that we have to settle for less when coming to the bargaining table.”
Abuissa receives smallest percentage of city council vote
Abuissa trailed behind Alter by 3,613 votes, receiving only 13 percent of the total vote. He received fewer votes than any other candidate in the race.
Abuissa held a watch party at George’s Buffet, with upward of 20 supporters in attendance.
Despite losing, the watch party remained upbeat and conversational. Cheers rang from supporters after results from the New York City mayoral race projected Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, defeated former mayor and Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The win from Mamdani represents a notable victory for progressives across the country.
Abuissa remained gracious after his loss, congratulating incumbents Alter and Teague on their victory and thanking his supporters. He said while he plans to take time off from running for public office, Abuissa intends to remain active in the community and in Democratic politics.
“I hoped that I would have been able to serve the city with my own experience, but the public did not know me enough, or I did not run an effective campaign,” Abuissa said. “I respect the results, I congratulate the incumbents, and I hope to work with them from the bench outside the council chamber.”
Abuissa said his experience will be missed by the city council, and that he would be better able to provide change on issues such as affordable housing to Iowa City residents.
Longtime Iowa City resident Pat Minor cast her ballot for Abuissa after working with him on activist initiatives, specifically for pro-Palestine causes, for over 20 years.
Minor expressed disappointment in the election results, and specifically the victory of incumbent candidates.
“[Iowa City] will be stable, which I think is what a lot of people like,” Minor said. “But I wanted to see us move forward. I wanted us to see us become more progressive, especially in light of the [federal] administration.”
She attended the watch party in a bright green shirt with Abuissa’s face on it, with the words “listen and empower.”
“He really is interested in listening to whatever other people have to say, and not only listen to us but to put that into action,” Minor said. “He also wants to help empower, and I think that is so necessary in today’s society.”