A Hard Fought Campaign

Unofficial results from the Johnson County Auditor:

Candidate	Early Vote	Election Day	TOTAL
McGrath	145	141	286
Hopson	145	138	284
Leff	141	135	276
Haverkamp	94	179	273
Lane	97	171	268
Stewart	139	128	267
Yeggy	88	161	249
Whitmer	89	156	245

Speaking on behalf of Amanda, Jim and Pat we are gratified by the tremendous support we received while campaigning. It is a testament to the spirit and concern of our citizens  to have 60% turn out for the election.

Both Jim and I are humbled by your trust and will certainly work with everyone in city government to the best of our abilities.

Due to the one vote difference for the final seat on the council, a machine recount by the auditor's office is likely, before results of the election are certified.

Please Vote

U-H Polling Site:

St. Andrew Church
1300 Melrose Ave.

Polls open at 7:00 a.m.

Polls close at 8:00 p.m.

This is a request for you to participate in the greatest privilege in a democracy, and vote in our city election.

University Heights is at a crossroads and your vote is critical. In the 2009 election the margin of victory for the final seat on council was 2 VOTES. To say that your vote is important is not idle chatter.

One of the important things that makes University Heights great is that we participate in our local government to a degree unparalleled by our neighbors. A total election turnout of 60% of registered voters would not be surprising to any of us. Please do your part to contribute to our community.

And also remember that ALL NINE CANDIDATES for office in this election SUPPORT THE LIBRARY LEVY. VOTE YES TO SUPPORT LIBRARY SERVICES!

You Have to Laugh

The poor Iowa City Press Citizen, after listing in Tuesday's paper that Rosanne Hopson was in favor of the proposed One University Place Development, this morning they managed to switch the names of the two University Heights city Political Action Committees and how much revenue they had raised. The good thing about "new media" is that correcting an online version is quite easy. However in both cases above the print version is incorrect.

I'm reminded of the story of the baseball manager who complains to the umpire about the obvious bad call he made. The ump's response is "Don't worry about it, the next bad call will be in YOUR favor..."

A "Right Sized" Campaign for U-Heights

Until the 2011 special election no candidate in University Heights had ever had to file a finance report with the Iowa Campaign and Ethics Board, because no one had ever had spent over the state regulated $750 limit.



In a report filed today, November 3, 2011, WeR4UH has raised $3,290.00 for the 2011 campaign and through October 19th had  spent $1,593.00. Their major expenditure was for 300 yard signs.

In addition to the above, four separate committees for Hopson, Leff, Stewart, and McGrath have also been created. These individual groups, will not have to report if they EACH stay under the $750 limit. 

To see all contributors and expenses so far, download the filed
We Are For UH Election Report

For the 2011 Special Election the Committee to Elect Rosanne Hopson raised $2,535 and spent $2,500

To see all contributors and expenses, download the filed Hopson Special Election Report

We believe that spending  $5,825 dollars for two elections, plus potentially up to $3,000 more ( from the 4 individual candidates) in a single year is too much.

As this blog shows, the candidates of "We Are University Heights Moving Forward" have tried to be informative and creative in explaining the complicated issues in this city election to members of our community.

What may not be quite so obvious is that we have also made a conscious effort to be frugal.

The decision for the five of us to work together in this election was not taken lightly. When it became apparent that we were faced with an organized, well funded campaign, we made a commitment to form a single group and not exceed the $750 expense limit that would require documenting expenditures and donations. We did this, not because we didn't want to disclose this information, but because our belief was that spending the equivalent of no more than 75 cents per resident was appropriate. We also consciously limited contributors to University Heights residents.

Our biggest expense has been 50 yard signs at $6 each.

However, the cornerstone of our campaign effort costs nothing. We have been going out door to door to residents and talking with them, as campaigns in a small town should. When demand for yard signs exceeded what was available, we took and re-made old signs left over from earlier elections. We have printed our own materials.  We have used "free" media such as this blog to express, expand and illuminate upon the ideas and facts behind the issues. Through these efforts we have tried to give as much detail as possible in order for U-H citizens to make informed decisions.

We have tried to campaign in a cost-conscious way. These skills should come in handy as we govern in the future, given the city's tight budget. We hope that you appreciate those efforts.

It USED to be True: OUP Building Height

I read the "Questions and Answers" flier I received in the mail yesterday with great interest. Right in the first two paragraphs were statements that I won't characterize as false but would rather say it used to be true. These assertions haven't kept pace with changes to One University Place. 

Plaza on 5th, Coralville

First I read "The existing structure that most closely resembles OUP's back building is the new "Plaza on 5th' building in Coralville" the flier noted that they were both 6 story buildings. However, a quick call to the Coralville building department found that the height of the condo portion of Plaza on 5th is 74 feet. The height of the major horizontal line of the top floor of residences at OUP is 50 feet. The small reception room has a height of 62 feet.

In 2009 when the zoning request for One University Place first went to council the plans for the back building were 76 feet tall. So it used to be true that Plaza on 5th would be a good comparison. 

Another major difference between the two buildings is that the Plaza on 5th sits 25 feet from the edge of 5th Street. One University Place back building will sit about 275 feet from the edge of Melrose. The FRONT building of OUP (at 38 feet roughly half the height of Plaza) will sit 33 feet from Melrose. 

Continue on to It USED to be True: Melrose Ave. Traffic

It USED to be True: Melrose Ave. Traffic

Continued from: It USED to be True: OUP Building Height

Then I read the statement "Traffic from OUP will add at least 1500 cars a day to Melrose Ave." This one takes more time to explain.  

According to the latest Iowa DOT traffic counts Melrose Ave. currently carries 13,000 cars per day. Given the reductions in height and length, as well as taking a portion of the commercial space for a community center, the number of total units in One University Place drops and correspondingly the traffic decreases.  The most glaring portion of the statement is “at least.” CURRENT estimated traffic counts, (see below) from MPOjc are 20% below this number. The type of commercial as well as the final occupancy of the residential units could result in even  lower numbers. 1,500 cars daily would represent the upper range of potential traffic rather than the floor. 

So like building height, when talking about a project that is nearly 30% smaller than it was, it used to be true that a prediction of 1500 cars could be made.

Another important factor is WHEN any vehicles from OUP would be entering/exiting. Furthermore one

Just the Facts, Ma'am

Here are some additional answers to the recent letter sent out by the opposition about One University Place and our Community.

1. The Opposition indicates that the developer will have “10 years before he has to start construction, with no time limit on when he must begin construction on the second building”. This time frame is not acceptable to the four councilors who want to Move University Heights Forward and will be voted on by the next city council since it has not been approved by the present city council. The developer has every incentive to complete construction. The longer a project goes on, the worse the profit margin.

2. All council candidates agreed at the recent Candidate forum that there needs to be a clause in the agreement with the developer that he cannot sell to a non-tax paying entity. Again nothing has been approved by the present city council.

3. The Opposition talks about a smaller development and used the term “moderately priced condos” in the candidate’s forum. A cost analysis of a smaller development is needed to prove that it would be profitable, but one has never been presented. “Moderately priced condos” would be in the same price range as the 90+ Grandview condos and would compete for sales with Grandview residences.

A Measured Endorsement

In what I thought was a well written summary of one of the major issues in the City Council campaign, the Iowa City Press Citizen endorsed the candidates of We are University Heights Moving Forward. Here is the text of today's editorial:


We usually avoid backing one-issue candidates in city council races, but in University Heights, the one issue on everyone’s mind seems to be developer Jeff Maxwell’s proposed One University Place.

If the members of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church decide to move from their property at 1300 Melrose Ave., Maxwell has proposed to build two buildings — one five stories and strictly residential, the other three stories and residential/commercial. The total

Candidate Profiles

Here are links to the our candidate profiles that were run in the 11/1/11 Iowa City Press Citizen.

Mike Haverkamp: Haverkamp running to finish what he started

Jim Lane: Lane calls for better understanding of the budget

Amanda Whitmer: Whitmer says she offers city financial expertise

Pat Yeggy: Yeggy wants to focus on independence