Coralville’s next city council member reflects on the election and the challenges ahead

CORALVILLE — Following the results of last week’s city council and mayoral elections Coralville residents will only see one new face next year.

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Newcomer Katie Freeman, a self-employed furniture designer, was elected to a seat on the council after receiving about 15 percent of votes cast in the city council election.

Incumbent council members Hai Hyunh and Mike Knudson were reelected, securing 22.8 and 19.9 percent of the votes, respectively. Laurie Goodrich, who has served on the council since 2014, was elected mayor, earning 57.67 percent of votes.

The Coralville City Council is comprised of five at-large members and a non-voting mayor. Council members serve staggered four-year terms, and the mayor serves a two-year term. This year’s election saw eight candidates running for three seats on the council.

Coralville voters also approved a 1 percent local-option sales tax that will help fund a new recreation center for the city. More than 85 percent of voters were in favor of the tax, which required a simple majority to pass.

The Gazette sat down with Freeman to talk about the results of the election and how they hope to serve Coralville as a member of city council.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: What did it feel like once you were elected to city council?

A: Surreal, I was so focused on trying to get people out to vote. The field was so much that we really had no idea how it would turn out. I was definitely getting nervous but it felt good and like all the hard work paid off.

Q: What was the campaign process like for you?

A: I really wanted to focus my campaign on getting more people involved in what’s going on locally. It was a lot of canvassing and looking for opportunities to meet with people and not just give them my materials but also listen to what concerns and needs they have. I feel like everybody at first would start with like ‘Oh I don’t pay attention to local politics,’ but once I started talking about how things are going on here relate to stories on the national level, that always got more engagement.

Q: You supported the passage of a 1 percent local-option sales tax during the campaign, what do you think now that it has passed?

A: I did support LOST. It wasn’t an easy decision because it is a regressive tax, and to be honest it’s not enough. But I supported it because we need some form of local control over money with what the state’s doing with property taxes, and you can’t run a city if you have no money. I don’t support 100 percent of it going to the rec center. I would like to see more of it go to social services, low income housing, affordable housing, those are the things I’m pushing for.

Q: How do you expect to integrate and work with the current council members?

A: I’ve been going to council meetings for almost a year and I’ve been pushing for things behind the scenes. I’ve met with the majority of council so I feel like I have a good working relationship with all of them. I’m sure that’s going to grow and change, the person whose seat I’m taking is going to be mayor so that will be a shift.

Q: How will your previous community involvement influence your decision making as a council member?

A: I didn't come with the credentials the other candidates that I beat out did. In some ways, they've done a lot more traditional volunteering. I've been more focused on helping the community that I best understand, which is the one I am part of, the queer and trans community. That's where I've focused my efforts, and because of my lived experience, I feel like I can speak to it and understand it. I've been involved there, but I want to reach out to more to immigrant groups and working through the library with all of the connections to communities that come there. I want to understand the needs of the people whose voices aren't really being heard or understood at the council level.

My focus is always going to be, how do we reduce harm, and how do we make things just like more affordable for the general public? I want to change it into more of a community driven system. Do I know what that looks like? No, but I do feel like we need to do whatever we can to reach out to community and get their input. Yeah not just the affluent community that always shows up, but everybody.

Q: Is there anything else that you want to make sure Coralville knows about you?

A: I'm open to meeting with anybody. I really want to spend this time before getting in office meeting again with as many community members as possible so that I can hit the ground running.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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