Indianola Mayor Pam Pepper was elected to hold the position after the special election on Tuesday by an unofficial margin of eight votes, with seven absentee ballots still yet to be added to the official count. Mayor Pepper tells KNIA News her thoughts on the outcome of the election.

“Of course I’m excited and honored to be elected mayor. It was a very close race, so I think there will be some contesting by Stephanie Erickson which is fine. So once these become official I am happy to continue in this role through December. So exciting, I think we had great turnout. Almost 1500 votes for a special election is impressive I think.”

Candidate Stephanie Erickson said in a statement posted on her campaign’s Facebook page that her campaign plans to ask for a recount, given that the total margin of victory was just 8 votes, equal to less than a half percent of total votes cast.

To listen to the full interview with Mayor Pepper, tune in to today’s Let’s Talk Indianola.

Statement from Stephanie Erickson below:

I would like to thank the good citizens of Indianola for their support over this short campaign. I decided to add my name to the ballot because I believe strongly in this town and its citizens and felt strongly that the citizens needed to have a voice in who serves as their mayor. I am proud of the campaign that my team ran and appreciate the support that I received during the process.

At this point, my campaign plans to ask for a recount, given that the total margin of Ms. Pepper’s victory was just 8 votes. There are seven outstanding votes at this moment, and a recount seems appropriate given the margin of victory was less than a half percent of total votes cast. After the vote is certified, we will formally ask for a recount utilizing those procedures designated by the Secretary of State for Iowa.

We will have additional statements as we begin the certification process.