Carroll, Lee and Jenson to join Springfield City Council after Tuesday election wins

All three of Springfield's competitive and open City Council races stayed close as final election results were reported late Tuesday night. City Council newcomers Callie Carroll, Derek Lee and Brandon Jenson will be sworn in at City Hall later this month.

General Seat C

In one of the open citywide seats, Callie Carroll defeated opponent Jeremy Dean with 9,851 votes (55.3%) vs. 7,974 (44.7%). The more than 10-percentage-point margin was the largest among competitive council races elected Tuesday night.

Speaking to the News-Leader, Carroll said she was "excited to serve the city."

"That's why I did this. I love Springfield. It was important to me to run, you know, a clean campaign and just be authentically myself. And that's what we did. And I'm just really really, really proud to get to serve the city I love," she said.

Asked for comment on his loss, Dean said the result makes it clear that "money and nepotism can win an election."

Carroll is a communications specialist for Old Missouri Bank and Dean is an office coordinator for a CoxHealth OB-GYN clinic. Carroll will replace Councilman Andy Lear, who did not run for re-election.

Carroll was endorsed by the Springfield Police Officer's Association and business-friendly Springfield Good Government Committee, while Dean relied on several endorsements from local labor unions.

General Seat D

In the other citywide race, Derek Lee defeated Bruce Adib-Yazdi with 9,600 votes (52%) to 8,832 votes (48%). Results flipped back and forth between the two candidates as results were released throughout the night before settling at a narrow, four-point margin.

Speaking to the News-Leader, Lee said he was "humbled" by the result and he "wants to serve" the city.

"I want to work on public safety, and I want to work towards getting the police department fully staffed. And then I want to work on the codes, just the things that I talked about in my campaign. I want to actually do that," Lee told the News-Leader.

In conceding, Adib-Yazdi said Lee is a "gentleman" and they will "remain friendly colleagues."

"I congratulate him on his victory and wish him the best as a City Council member. I do intend on staying engaged with the issues facing our city in the years to come," Adib-Yazdi wrote in a statement.

Both Lee and Adib-Yazdi work in developing projects in Springfield. Head of Lee Engineering & Associates, Lee often represents developers at neighborhood meeting or before City Council. Adib-Yazdi is an architect and vice president of development at The Vecino Group development firm.

Much of their campaign focused on the role of development. Lee has said the city overregulates developers, while Adib-Yazdi has said the city development process is biased against neighborhoods.

Lee was endorsed by the Springfield Police Officer's Association and Springfield Good Government Committee, while Adib-Yazdi relied on several endorsements from a local labor union.

Zone 3

In the southwest Springfield Zone 3, Brandon Jenson defeated David Nokes with 1,900 votes (53.8%) to 1,629 votes (46.2%).

Jenson works for the State of Missouri Department of Economic Development as a program manager for federally-allocated Community Development Block Grants. He also serves as president of the West Central Neighborhood Alliance.

Speaking to the News-Leader Tuesday night, Jenson said he owed much of his win to the Neighborhood Alliance and the strong bonds to the community in Zone 3 he has been able to forge.

"It just allowed me to truly be in touch with experiences of folks throughout the community. Being able to interact with anybody from the neighborhood translated to an ability to interact with anybody in the zone and have meaningful conversations with them," he said. "I think that my message of experience and passion for our community, as well as my hope for the future, really resonated with voters."

Jenson hopes to use his economic development experience as a councilperson once he is sworn in later this month.

"I would be very excited to participate in the zoning code overhaul, using my past experience as a city planner to identify innovative approaches to addressing chronic nuisance properties and supporting new sustainable housing."

Speaking to the News-Leader, Nokes said Jenson would "do a good job" for Zone 3.

"It's good to have choices and the Zone 3 residents that showed up at the polls, they made their choice and I'm sure Brandon will do a good job."

Nokes served as a police officer for 28 years, starting as a 21-year-old in his native Cassville. He worked 23 years at the Springfield Police Department, retiring at the rank of major.

City ballot questions

All three ballot measures put to voters by Springfield City Council were approved by Springfield voters.

Question 1 makes a series of changes to the City Charter related to city human resources and employee issues — many of which the city has described as housekeeping in nature. More than 70% of residents approved the change.

Question 2 also changes the charter and would allow bills that contract agencies for the city or contract the city with other entities to be voted on the same meeting they are introduced. The measure passed with just 53% approval.

Question 3 consolidates the city's hotel/motel tax into a single licensing tax of 5% for hotels, motels, and tourist courts. More than 66% of residents approved the change.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield elects three new councilmembers in open races.