Rauterkus re-elected; Bayley, Sebion win unopposed

Current City Council President Ralph Rauterkus won re-election to the combined City Council Wards 3 and 4 seat over challenger Erik Fridell in Tuesday’s only truly contested council race.

Rauterkus claimed 55.09 percent of the vote with 1,993 ballots, while Fridell brought in 1,599 votes for 44.2 percent of the total. There also were 26 write-ins making up less than 1 percent of the precincts’ total.

Neither candidate seemed to campaign extensively in the race.

The other City Council seats saw less competition.

In the Ward 2 race, Lisa Bayley won re-election to the City Council seat with 1,419 votes, or 69.83 percent. Her opponent, Craig Livingstone, dropped out of the race earlier this fall for medical reasons, but his name still appeared on the ballot due to the timing. He received 602 votes for 29.63 percent of the race. There were 11 write-ins.

The Ward 1 City Council spot went to Jason Sebion, who ran unopposed. The seat was left open after Council member Dan Bender announced he would not run for re-election.

Sebion had 1,718 votes — 98.96 percent of the vote — while 18 write-ins made up just more than 1 percent of the precinct’s total.

Tags: red wing, city council, news, election