VALLEY CITY  (NewsDakota.com)–Mayor Bob Werkhoven has retained his position as president of the Valley City commission, while Duane Magnuson has unseated an incumbent in a special recall election Tuesday.

Nearly 2,000 ballots were cast by Valley City residents, of those 660 were cast by absentee in Tuesday’s election.  The counting went well into the night, with the results being made public shortly after 11:00 p.m.

With spoiled ballots discarded, Werkhoven received 1,128 of 1,988 votes cast, 56% of the vote, outdistanced challenger Dean Ross, who received 860 votes, 43% of the vote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Werkhoven told newsdakota.com that he was pleased outcome for him but not for Ken Evenson who fell short. He said he hopes the city can move forward to getting some work done for the city without another recall in the next few months.

Magnuson received 1,023 of 1,973 votes cast in the city commission race, or 51%, and edged incumbent Ken Evenson, who received 950 votes, or 48%.

Voter turnout was described as steady all day at the city commission chambers, the lone polling place for the election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnuson told newsdakota.com that he will be a good listener for the people of Valley City and do the best job he can addressing issues that arise in the future. Magnuson said he and Ross worked closely together over the last 2 months in this campaign and was sad to see Ross fall short in the mayoral race.

The recall was forced after a summer of turmoil in the city, stemming from a disagreement between Dean Ross, then the police chief, and the city over accounting practices and a number of other issues.

The group that forced the recall originally attempted to recall four of the five members of the city commission, but commissioners Jon Wagar and George Dutton were spared the recall effort being their terms expire this June.

The election was the second in three months, after voters approved retaining the city administrator position in a vote on October 4.  The June primary/election will be the third election in nine months for Valley City voters.