North Liberty mayor quits

[IA_Seth]

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070329/NEWS/70329014/1001/NEWS

North Liberty mayor quits
Council to accept resignation Friday night
By Gregg Hennigan


NORTH LIBERTY - Mayor Dave Franker quit this afternoon, effective immediately and almost seven months after a court challenge to his controversial last-minute, contested write-in mayoral election in 2005 finally was settled in his favor. Franker said he had too much to juggle in his life to continue as mayor.

(snip)

Franker's election, by a 366-to-338-vote margin, set off a fire storm in this growing town that has an estimated population of more than 8,800. He was a last-minute write-in candidate who, it first appeared on election night, lost to Councilman Matt Bahl. But more ballots were counted and Franker was declared the winner.

Neither won more than 50 percent of the vote in what was a three-person race and Bahl challenged the results, eventually taking the matter to Johnson County District Court. Meantime, personal friction between Franker and Bahl supporters has spilled over into some council meetings.

In early September Judge Denver Dillard denied a request to reconsider a ruling he made in August against holding a runoff election to resolve the dispute. Franker said today he fought Bahl's challenge even though he was heading toward a degree in law to support the principal of him being elected democratically.

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Man, for those of you familiar with the struggle it was to make this man the North Lib mayor....this is a surprise to me at least!

[rurallib]

1. Dave Franker ran against Jim Leach in 2004

He's a nice guy but is always doing 5,000 things at any time.

[IA_Seth]

2. Yeah...

I liked him well enough, but I am glad Loebsack is our guy now. He represents me better than I think Franker would/could have.

He does sound driven though!