WINTERSET, Iowa — As a Special Election for the Madison County Auditor’s seat nears, two people have filed to run, one of whom temporarily holds the position.
The previous Madison County Auditor announced her resignation in May, with interviews for a replacement taking place in late June and into July. Matthew Schwarz was then appointed in a 2-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors on July 3.
Shortly after Schwarz was sworn in, an effort to collect signatures to petition for a Special Election began. A paperwork error was then brought to light on July 16 when it was discovered that the public was not given notice of the right to petition for a Special Election.
Despite the notification error, a bipartisan group of citizens had already started collecting signatures and filed a petition to hold a Special Election for the Auditor’s seat on July 17. Roughly 1,500 Madisonians signed the petition.
Schwarz was named “temporary” County Auditor at a July 22 BOS meeting and will hold the position until the election takes place at the end of August.
As of Friday afternoon, two people had officially filed to run for the Auditor’s seat.
Former board Clerk Michelle Brant had announced her intent to run earlier in the week and officially filed the paperwork on Wednesday morning after collecting more than double the signatures required to run as an independent candidate.
“I am running No Party because I believe that Madison County voters have had enough polarization from local politics, and that a true moderate who is fair and honest needs to be running our Auditor’s office,” Brant, who was formerly registered as a Republican, wrote in a release at the time of her announcement. “As I have said time and again, I want to serve all Madison County residents and protect our county from missteps.”
Brant has recently served under the Madison County BOS and the Auditor, and “has knowledge of the systems in that office, and she has specific experience navigating difficult situations.”
Matthew Schwarz, who was sworn in as Madison County Auditor July 7, also filed to run on Wednesday morning after receiving the Republican Party nomination on Monday night, records obtained by WHO 13 show.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Madison County and am looking forward to it,” Schwarz told WHO 13’s Katie Kaplan shortly after his initial appointment.
When originally sworn in for the position, he said he saw the opportunity as a way to apply his analytical skills. He also stated he is not active on social media and would assign a staff member to manage official communications to stay in accordance with Iowa law.
The Democratic Party elected not to nominate a candidate and cancelled their nominating convention, according to emails obtained by WHO 13.
The deadline to file for candidacy was 5 p.m. Friday. The special election will be held on August 26th.
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