Kasparek beats Berner for Tiffin mayor as incumbents Olney, Limkemann hold on to council seats

Iowa's fastest-growing city elected Tim Kasparek as its new mayor for the first time in more than a decade while narrowly retaining the two incumbent councilmembers, Skylar Limkemann and Chris Olney on Tuesday.

In the mayor's race, Kasparek received 62% of the vote in a rare contested election against long-time incumbent Steve Berner. who nabbed 37% of the vote.

In the battle for city council, the familiar faces only narrowly retained their seats. Olney led the way with 34% percent of the vote (463 votes). Limkemann picked up 33% of the tally (449 votes) while first-time candidate Thomas Gibson was just 22 votes behind Limkemann with 427 votes, or 32% of the total. Voters were able to select two candidates for council.

Results are unofficial and will be finalized by a county canvass over the next few weeks.

Kasparek dethrones longtime Tiffin mayor

Kasparek, 44, ran as a fresh face on the ballot. He told the Press-Citizen that Tiffin's needs have changed drastically in the 12 years since Berner has been mayor, and the city now faces both opportunities and challenges that are different from when he first assumed office.

"The challenges that we're having now are definitely different and more complex than they were then," Kasparek told the Press-Citizen on Wednesday. "We have some amazing opportunities in front of us and I think that the turnout and the support goes to show you that people are excited about it, and they want to make sure that we have leadership that reflects the excitement and reflects the ability to do the job."

Kasparek comes with more than 20 years of business development and leadership experience. He currently works as a business development and sales manager in Cedar Rapids.

He praised Berner for his long-time leadership but said that his margin of victory over the familiar incumbent reflects people's desire for a change in leadership.

The whole experience, Kasparek said, has been incredibly humbling. He sat with his thoughts for a full hour last night once everything had calmed down and is taking the rest of the week off from his full-time job to recharge and gear up for the future.

"We've got some big infrastructure challenges, from road considerations and things like that, as we've grown that has been tough to keep up with," Kasparek said. "We've got services decisions to be made, whether it's fire safety, public safety. We've got some water quality issues that we deal with, and then economic development, and, if you want to put a bow around the whole thing, being able to do that in a fiscally responsible way and be able to manage the budget as you go along."

It's a lot, he said, but he's invigorated by the large turnout and ready to take on the challenges that come his way. Kasparek will serve a two-year term.

Berner, 57, is a 26-year resident of Tiffin and oversaw the city for 12 years, a stretch that saw Tiffin's population more than double. He has long been a consistent presence in the city, serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission for more than 15 years before becoming mayor.

A tight city council race in Tiffin

Olney, 62, is a one-time councilor who won reelection as the top vote-getter in Tiffin's city council race. She said she will continue to contribute a common-sense approach to growth in her city, leaning on her years of experience working in the Iowa City Clerk's Office.

"It's just an exciting time," Olney said. "I mean, it's just there's so much that can happen and we can make a real difference for the future of Tiffin."

Her top priority is to manage that growth by furthering economic development, a move that will in turn bring in more revenue for the city and allow leadership to spend on city infrastructure, she said.

Limkemann, 34, is a local attorney who has already served a four-year term, also won reelection on Tuesday night. Like Olney, Berner and Kasparek, Limkemann, is focused on ensuring the city can keep up with its rapid growth.

That includes adding additional funding for services like expanding on the city's parks and recreation facilities, improving public safety services and improving water quality.

Gibson, 53, was defeated Tuesday night with largely the same agenda and priorities as his opponents. He also wanted to focus on providing more transparency between the local governmental leadership and the community, something he believed the city had faltered on over the last two years.

Olney and Limkemann will serve four-year terms on the council and will not be up for reelection until 2027.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Find out who won the city council and mayoral races in Tiffin