Voters elect newcomer Rochester to council
By Lynn Zerschling Journal staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, November 07, 2007
SIOUX CITY -- If voters wanted change, they succeeded in Tuesday's general election by sending challenger Aaron Rochester to the City Council for the next four years.
He defeated Councilman Jason Geary, who was the top vote-getter in the city election in 2003. Four years ago, Geary, 30, was the youngest person ever elected to the council when he unseated incumbent Tony Drake.
On Tuesday, Rochester, 33, surged ahead in early returns and never looked back, taking 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Geary.
"My initial reaction is, this was an election about change," Geary said after seeing the results flash on the big screen in the lobby of the Woodbury County Courthouse. "Both incumbents lost," he said referring to Councilman Brent Hoffman, who was defeated by Mike Hobart in the race for mayor.
"I think most people voted for change," Geary said. "We'll see how that plays out."
Rochester, owner of Impact Accounting LLC, watched the returns pop up on his computer screen at home and then rushed to the courthouse with his family
"I met with a lot of people during this campaign," he said. "I probably hit more than 4,000 doors. I think I was able to convince them I could make a difference."
He said he campaigned heavily at retirement homes, providing information to residents about absentee balloting. He admitted he didn't know if that made a difference in the outcome.
"I prayed a lot about this, too," he said. "Some of the ways I tried to distance myself from Jason is to talk about my stance on property taxes."
He vowed to hold the line on property taxes and not vote for an increase in the tax levy.
Concerning his first months on the council, Rochester said, "I have all kinds of ideas. It depends upon whether there are three votes to do things," a reference to the number of votes that constitute a majority decision..
Rochester said he didn't think news that his campaign had received $7,000 from the PeaceMakers Political Action Committee influenced the outcome.
The PAC was formed by the Rev. Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach. Gordon and Rochester teamed up last year to push for passage of the referendum on direct election of the mayor. Rochester is a member of that church. The contribution from the PAC constitutes more than half of the campaign donations Rochester reported last week and nearly one-third of all the money funneled into the council race. The PAC did not contribute to Geary's campaign.
"I did talk to one gentleman who had one of my big signs in his yard. He took it down after that came out. I went over and helped him. He was nice about it."
Both candidates conducted vigorous media campaigns in the final weeks leading up to Tuesday's election. Geary said it wasn't clear if any of Rochester's anti-Geary ads lost him votes.
After the final votes came in from the hold-out precinct at the Woodbury County Action Agency showing he had lost, Geary hugged his wife, Kristan, and then got hugs from his parents.
"I wouldn't have done anything different on the campaign trail and on the council," he said. "I gave it my best for four years."
Rochester credited his wife, Amy, for "holding the family together" while he was campaigning. The couple has four children ranging in age from 6 to 15.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or at lynnzerschling@lee.net
He defeated Councilman Jason Geary, who was the top vote-getter in the city election in 2003. Four years ago, Geary, 30, was the youngest person ever elected to the council when he unseated incumbent Tony Drake.
On Tuesday, Rochester, 33, surged ahead in early returns and never looked back, taking 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Geary.
"My initial reaction is, this was an election about change," Geary said after seeing the results flash on the big screen in the lobby of the Woodbury County Courthouse. "Both incumbents lost," he said referring to Councilman Brent Hoffman, who was defeated by Mike Hobart in the race for mayor.
"I think most people voted for change," Geary said. "We'll see how that plays out."
Rochester, owner of Impact Accounting LLC, watched the returns pop up on his computer screen at home and then rushed to the courthouse with his family
"I met with a lot of people during this campaign," he said. "I probably hit more than 4,000 doors. I think I was able to convince them I could make a difference."
He said he campaigned heavily at retirement homes, providing information to residents about absentee balloting. He admitted he didn't know if that made a difference in the outcome.
"I prayed a lot about this, too," he said. "Some of the ways I tried to distance myself from Jason is to talk about my stance on property taxes."
He vowed to hold the line on property taxes and not vote for an increase in the tax levy.
Concerning his first months on the council, Rochester said, "I have all kinds of ideas. It depends upon whether there are three votes to do things," a reference to the number of votes that constitute a majority decision..
Rochester said he didn't think news that his campaign had received $7,000 from the PeaceMakers Political Action Committee influenced the outcome.
The PAC was formed by the Rev. Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach. Gordon and Rochester teamed up last year to push for passage of the referendum on direct election of the mayor. Rochester is a member of that church. The contribution from the PAC constitutes more than half of the campaign donations Rochester reported last week and nearly one-third of all the money funneled into the council race. The PAC did not contribute to Geary's campaign.
"I did talk to one gentleman who had one of my big signs in his yard. He took it down after that came out. I went over and helped him. He was nice about it."
Both candidates conducted vigorous media campaigns in the final weeks leading up to Tuesday's election. Geary said it wasn't clear if any of Rochester's anti-Geary ads lost him votes.
After the final votes came in from the hold-out precinct at the Woodbury County Action Agency showing he had lost, Geary hugged his wife, Kristan, and then got hugs from his parents.
"I wouldn't have done anything different on the campaign trail and on the council," he said. "I gave it my best for four years."
Rochester credited his wife, Amy, for "holding the family together" while he was campaigning. The couple has four children ranging in age from 6 to 15.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or at lynnzerschling@lee.net
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Love It wrote on Nov 8, 2007 10:48 PM:
Duff wrote on Nov 7, 2007 10:52 PM:
Wait and see... wrote on Nov 7, 2007 10:42 PM:
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Geary Supporter wrote on Nov 7, 2007 6:58 PM: