County redistricting yields more election shuffling

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Seyb and Pflug may be forced onto the ballot this year

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

LEE COUNTY - The redistricting of county supervisor districts released last week initially looked to have little to no impact in Lee County, but a discovered four-block area in Keokuk may throw a wrench into the works.

Lee County Auditor Denise Fraise confirmed Monday night that both District 5 Supervisor Matt Pflug, a Democrat, and District 4 Supervisor Garry Seyb, Jr., a Republican, may have to run in this year's primary and general elections.

The four block area, which is in the area of 9th to 11th streets in Keokuk, moves from District 4 to District 5, but since both areas have incumbents and the residents in those areas are now in a new district, the seats appear to be back in play in 2022.

Both Pflug and Seyb said they were disappointed that the redistricting came in so late and such a small change prompted a campaign season for each of them.

SEYB, JR.

Fraise said they both have just about 10 days to gather the needed 100 signatures to get on the primary ballot.

"It's definitely a surprise, there's no doubt about that," Seyb said Monday night. "But I'll get to work and get the signatures and go from there."

Pflug also said he doesn't see a problem getting the required signatures in time.

PFLUG

"It was sure news that I didn't want to hear," Pflug said. "You run for a four-year term and it's not right they come in late like this and change things and then you have to run again."

Pflug said the interesting thing is that it opens it up for anyone to challenge them now in the primary and in the general election.

Mary Jo Reisberg, chairwoman of the Lee County Democrats, said the party has identified a couple people to run in District 3, which is an open seat with Rich Harlow not seeking another term. But she said she hasn't talked with any other candidates about a run for the other districts due to the late information on districts.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone but Matt (Pflug), Jerry (Kearns), and Denise," Reisberg said. "This just doesn't make much sense. Getting this information down to the counties was very slow. Auditors across the state have been waiting."

The county lost a potential candidate in the redistricting when Peter Seyb's residence got moved into District 4, currently represented by his brother Garry. Peter Seyb had collected enough signatures to get on the ballot in District 3 before the boundaries were reset.

Fraise, who said she just realized the change today, said she has reached out to the Secretary of State's office for confirmation of the findings. She also asked for clarification on how long the terms will be for the districts.

As it stands now, districts 2, 3, 4, and 5 will all be up for election at the same time. The supervisor districts are traditionally staggered with three in one cycle and two in the next two-year cycle.

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