Des Moines Voters Re-Elect Boesen and Mandelbaum to City Council, Ousts Gray

DES MOINES, Iowa – Des Moines voters re-elected two out of three city council members on the ballot on Tuesday. 

Connie Boesen won re-election for a second term in office as one of the city’s two at-large council members. Voters in Ward 3 re-elected Josh Mandelbaum to a second term.

Ward 1 voters ousted Bill Gray, who ran for his third term on the city council. He was defeated by Indira Sheumaker, an activist with the Black Liberation Movement in Des Moines, in a three-way race.

“We just won our campaign on a platform centered on Defunding the Police for Safety and Justice. It can be done. My goal for this city has always been to work from the bottom up. Not the top down. I’m more committed than ever to working with the residents of Des Moines to get their needs met, prioritizing the people, and acting as a true representative for Ward 1,” she said in a released statement following her victory.

At-Large 

1. Connie Boesen – 9655 (54.0 percent)
2. Justyn Lewis – 8073 (45.2 percent
3. Write-In – 142 (0.8 percent)

Ward 1 

1. Indira Sheumaker – 2502 (46.4 percent)
2. Bill Gray – 1960 (36.3 percent)
3. Marcus Coenen – 908 (16.8 percent)
4. Write-In – 27 (0.5 percent)

Ward 3

1. Josh Mandelbaum – 5258 (66.8 percent)
2. Cory McAnelly – 1592 (20.2 percent)
3. Brandi Webber – 997 (12.7 percent)
4. Write-In – 24 (0.3 percent)