Connie Boesen has won Des Moines mayor's race, will be the first woman to hold the office

Connie Boesen has won the Des Moines mayor's race and will become the first woman to hold the capital city's top spot.

Following a months-long — and at moments, contentious — campaign, Des Moines City Council at-large representative Boesen, 72, edged out fellow councilmember Josh Mandelbaum with 723 votes separating the two, according to unofficial results. She will replace Des Moines' longest-serving mayor, Frank Cownie, 75, who did not seek reelection.

Unofficial results show Boesen earned 48% of the votes, while Mandelbaum got 46%.

Denver Foote, 27, a cosmetologist and activist, earned 3% of the votes. Security guard and musician Chris. W Von Arx, 28, got 2%.

Boesen, who ran on issues such as economic development, public safety and education, celebrated her win among about 100 family and friends Tuesday night at Chuck's Restaurant on Sixth Avenue in the Highland Park neighborhood. A Des Moines staple known for its thin crust pizza, it's a spot that Boesen says has become a tradition as a place to celebrate election victories.

Iowa local election results 2023

As results rolled in, relatives, friends and former co-workers sat at different tables, or stood, mingling and waiting in one of the restaurant's back rooms. A large banner hung on one of the amber-colored walls that read: "Des Moines' First Woman Mayor Connie Boesen."

Community leaders such as at-large City Council member Carl Voss and Iowa State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad made appearances.

In a room next door, Boesen's campaign manager, Sam Roecker, former City Council member Christine Hensley, Boesen's husband, Ted Boesen, and Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly huddled around a laptop, refreshing results and discussing precincts being reported. Dressed in a red blazer, Boesen roamed between both rooms, socializing with supporters and checking in with her sisters.

Cheers from both rooms erupted shortly before 9 p.m. as Boesen greeted her supporters.

"Victory is sweet," Boesen said in her speech.

"I heard from Josh and we've committed that we are going to work together just as we have worked in the past because there is only one thing that we are focused on and that's the citizens of our city and how we can make it the best for everyone," she said.

She thanked her husband, as well as her family, friends and supporters, including fellow City Council members and Cownie, who endorsed her.

"We have so much promise for the city and I've talked about it on the campaign. There are four categories: We want to create a safer Des Moines. We want to revitalize neighborhoods… And we need to get more economic growth, … and we need to ensure that we take care of people," she said.

"We know it's not easy, we know there's going to be a lot of work, but I know if we collectively all work together, we can make great things happen," Boesen said. "And we'll keep building on the momentum that's been built and keep building the city to be the city that we all want to live, work and thrive in."

Mandelbaum, who represents Ward 3, which includes the downtown core and the East Village, ran on issues such as city growth, affordable housing, strong public transportation and climate.

With Josh Mandelbaum campaign flyers peppered in between bright paintings from local artists, Mars Café, a mainstay of the Drake neighborhood normally packed with college kids hunched over laptops, transformed Tuesday night into the campaign’s headquarters, complete with a lighted stage, media gaggle and catered Cajun chicken.

Mandelbaum, 44, voted early, so he spent his day door-knocking, dropping by east side houses with bilingual literature in the mid-afternoon. His campaign said he had knocked on doors in every ward and planned to keep knocking doors until polls closed at 8 p.m.

Nearly 100 people had come and gone from the café throughout the night, but about 50 people stayed to hear Mandelbaum concede just after 9 p.m. Mandelbaum entered from the back of the store, shaking hands and getting encouraging words from his supporters as he and his family made their way to the makeshift stage.

More: Des Moines mayor race candidates share stances on key issues. Where do they vary?

"A few minutes ago, I called Mayor-elect Boesen to congratulate her on a hard-fought race. She ran a tough race. I know she cares tremendously about this community," he said. "We came on the council together six years ago, at the same time. We've worked closely together. I know our city is in good hands with Mayor Boesen. I want to congratulate her and I look forward to working with her.

"I pledge to work with her and to do everything I can to make her successful and to make our city successful."

Foote, who uses they/them pronouns, ran on issues such as public transit accessibility, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, climate change and the housing crisis. Von Arx said he wanted to lower property taxes, solve the homeless crisis and crime, and make city living more affordable. Von Arx, who filed paperwork for mayor weeks ahead of the deadline, was largely absent from the race.

Who is Connie Boesen?

Boesen was elected to serve as the City Council's at-large representative in 2017 and was previously on the Des Moines School Board for 14 years.

Boesen, who announced her run for mayor in March, said her goal as mayor is to bring "pride" back into Des Moines neighborhoods, largely through redeveloping and strengthening housing and businesses.

More: At-large Des Moines City Council member Connie Boesen is running for mayor

The biggest issue facing the city is making sure Des Moines' "growth and progress brings everyone along, regardless of where you live or who you are," she wrote in response to a Des Moines Register questionnaire. She said she'd address the challenge through economic development, including investment in small businesses and working with large employers to bring more jobs to Des Moines.

Often drawing from her east side origins and experience on the school board during the campaign, Boesen said she wants to tackle livability issues and public safety and fight for high-quality public schools. After all, it was her first love — education — that drove her to run for City City Council in the first place, she said. The council lacked a "strong voice" supporting schools, she previously told the Register.

On council, Boesen says she is most proud of working with organizations like Invest DSM and the Improving Our Neighborhoods program to reinvest and increase value in neighborhood nodes, an effort that has helped stabilize and revive them. She says she wants to continue that work as mayor.

Boesen says her strengths lie in bringing people together.

"I think my strength has been why I've gotten things accomplished," she told the Register.

Boesen graduated from East High School and attended Grand View University and Des Moines Area Community College. She was born and raised in Des Moines and runs the Applishus and The Salad Bowl concession stands at the Iowa State Fair.

Ellen Fisher, of Des Moines, said at the watch party at Chuck's she's followed Boesen since her time on the school board. She voted for Boesen for mayor in the city election.

She's "seen her energy and just her dedication to the city of Des Moines," Fisher said. "I can tell just when she talks, and actually, more so in the things that she does and that she embraces, that… Her decisions are about the city and about the people in the city, not about 'How can I move up?' or whatever."

"And she is, I think, one of the hardest workers I've ever seen," Fisher added.

Vicki Agee, who came to Boesen's party with her husband, Doug Agee, said she worked with Boesen at the former Younkers department store downtown.

"She's a very hard-working woman," Agee said of Boesen. "I'm very proud of her."

When asked why Boesen was right for the role of mayor, Agee said: "Well, one thing I think, we need a woman as mayor. I think she'll try to get a lot done… She's done that in every job that she's had so far."

The fight to the finish line

It was a particularly tight race between Boesen and Mandelbaum, both of whom announced campaigns early in 2023.

The two candidates, who have been colleagues on the City Council for the past six years and have taken similar stances on core issues like affordable housing, city growth and public safety, are most notably separated over whether state issues have a place in city politics.

Mandelbaum has repeatedly advocated for the city to voice its stance on broader statewide issues such as reproductive rights and gun safety, and said he's shown that commitment through proposed policies and ordinances as a council member. While Boesen has supported some of these policies, she largely believes some of these issues aren't within the city's purview.

"I'm going to continue to fight for every single person, for their reproductive freedom, for our trans friends," Mandelbaum said in his concession speech. "I'm going to fight for you to make sure you know you are welcome in Des Moines."

More: Meet the four candidates running for Des Moines mayor in the 2023 election

The rift over reproductive freedom rose to the surface in both campaigns, becoming the most contentious issue of the race. Mandelbaum, who preemptively drafted a resolution to safeguard access to abortion for Des Moines residents in 2022, which was rejected by fellow council members including Boesen, has said that he's the only candidate for mayor who has stood up for reproductive freedom.

His comments, which showed up in a campaign mailer, came under fire from Boesen's campaign, saying the mailer was "distorting her record," adding that she would support "any legal and constitutional solution" that would protect citizens' rights, as well as support representatives at the state and federal level "who believe in codifying reproductive rights into law."

Foote also called out Mandelbaum, saying they, too, have done work on the issue through community advocacy.

The issue came to a head when on Nov. 3 Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa released a statement supporting Mandelbaum's "proactive leadership demonstrated through this resolution," adding that it remains "disappointed that a majority of the Council chose not to support the rights of their constituents when presented the opportunity to do so.”

The disagreement between Boesen and Mandelbaum largely drove three City Council members' decision to throw their support behind Boesen mere weeks ahead of the election. Cownie's endorsement came just five days before Election Day.

When asked why Boesen is the right fit for the mayor's position, Cownie told the Register on Tuesday night it was about her "ability to work with others."

"And coming together and you know, I think all of us have had the opportunity to do that, but with her past experience, not only at the school board level, but on the City Council, and as an at-large member, she has worked well with other members, including, quite frankly, the Ward 3 councilman," Cownie said. "She's shown an ability to work with everybody and I think that was impressive."

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa election 2023: Connie Boesen wins Des Moines mayor's race