Todays News

Holtz wins GOP nomination for Tama County Treasurer at convention

TAMA -- On June 2, no Republican candidate for Tama County Treasurer reached the 35% threshold to be declared the winner of the primary, sending the race to a county nominating convention held on Tuesday.

In the primary vote, incumbent Amanda Kriegel received the most votes in the four-way race with 493 votes, just under 35% with 1,437 ballots cast in the race. Ashley Bolen was second with 466 votes (32.43%), followed by Kathy Holtz with 400 votes (27.84%), and Jolynn Harger with 77 votes (5.36%).

Holtz emerges out of Tuesday's convention

During Tuesday's nominating convention, Kathy Holtz emerged victorious by capturing the support of 24 out of 40 county delegates and winning off the first ballot.

As the convention started, Tama County Republican delegates gathered, joined by spectators, in the Tama Civic Center. Tama County Chairwoman Catherine Leipold started the convention by nominating Scott Adkins of Black Hawk County to serve as the permanent chair for the course of the convention. Ben Ellison was nominated and served as secretary over the proceedings.

After adopting the agenda and going over rules, official nominations for County Treasurer began. State Representative Dean Fisher nominated Ashley Bolen first, with Bolen accepting from the audience. Carolyn Adolphs nominated Kathy Holtz, who was also present and accepted.

Incumbent Treasurer Amanda Kriegel, who was not in attendance, was also nominated by Moe McWhirter. Adkins, after briefly checking with others at the headtable, ruled that Kriegel would be placed into consideration.

All three candidates had the opportunity to address the delegates before any voting took place. Going in alphabetical order, Bolen gave her speech first.

Bolen's speech included her status as a third generation Tama County resident, the role of county government and addressed past mistakes she had made. Court records indicate she was charged with first degree burglary and assault with intent to commit bodily injury in 2004 in Story County and eventually pleaded guilty to assault with intent to inflict serious injury, an aggravated misdemeanor.

"I'm not proud of every decision I made in my younger years. Instead of letting a mistake when I was 20 define me, I took the courage to take honest stock of who I was and became determined to rebuild myself into a woman of service, accountability, and hard work," she said.

Bolen continued by addressing how her conversion to Catholicism has played a role in her adult life, along with many acts of volunteerism. Bolen concluded by reaffirming her party affiliation, along with speaking about attending a Trump rally during his first term in office.

Kathy Holtz went next, addressing what she describes as the main theme of her campaign, showing up.

"Tonight, I'm asking for the opportunity to show up for Tama County as your next treasurer," she said. "As your treasurer, you'll be greeted with professionalism, friendliness, and a smile. Let’s be honest, paying taxes, registering your vehicles, renewing your driver’s license, and conducting county business, probably aren't anyone’s favorite activities, but I believe every action can still be pleasant and respectful. Smiles go a long way. I’ll be professional and respectful, while bringing my 'What can I do for you' attitude."

County Supervisor David Turner read a speech prepared by incumbent treasurer Amanda Kriegel defending her record.

"Since my election in 2022, I have managed to increase the interest earnings for the county to a projected $1,898,000. This is more than triple the amount that was earned in the previous four years before I took office, when the interest earnings at that time were $563,000," it read. Kriegel concluded by thanking the delegates and asking for their support.

After all three speeches, the first ballot of voting began with the nominated candidates watching the count take place in the front of the room.

Kathy Holtz won outright, receiving 24 votes, with Bolen receiving 13, and Kriegel receiving just three votes.

In her victory speech, Holtz talked about her independent bid for the Treasurer's office back in 2022.

"I realized that I missed the cutoff to be a Republican candidate. I've been a Republican in my heart since 1998. I decided to run as an independent, and I worked my butt off, I went to every single parade, I went to every pancake breakfast, and my kids went with me," she said. "I did everything I could, but cracking that Republican threshold in Tama County is really hard. To have this opportunity again to actually serve and represent the republican party of Tama County just means everything to me."

In closing, Holtz brought up an immediate change she intends on making.

"I know there are some things that will change, some will take time, but there are some things that will be changed on day one, and that will be the smile."

As it currently stands, there are no Democratic or independent challengers set to appear on the ballot in November.

Kriegel's absence and Turner's support

Many questions surrounded Turner representing Kriegel during the convention. In a post shared to Facebook prior to the event, Turner weighed in on the matter.

"The 35% rule and its effect on elections. I've had a lot of time to consider this issue and have come to the conclusion it has a deleterious effect on our elections. The more I look at the consequences, it seems to me across the nation it is designed to allow another bite at the apple. Take our local Treasurer's contest. At the time of the election there were 4344 total registered Republicans; 1512 voted; 74 did not vote in the Treasurer's race," he wrote. "Kriegel received 493, Bolen 466, Holtz 400 and Harger 77. While we are a Constitutional Republic, our local elections are democratic in nature. If we were to use the true democratic process, Kriegel would have won the Primary. Flooding the field with candidates and poor turn out leads us to the 35% option. We believe our fellow voters are lazy and don't believe our constituents who come out to vote are smart enough to choose so, let's try again. Now 40 folks will decide who should be on the General ballot. Folks, whether you like it or not, those are the current rules. Where should we go in the future? Show up and vote! I have already contacted my State Representative and asked we in Iowa should do away with the 35% rule in the local elections. Full disclosure, I did not vote for Kriegel, but more of my fellow voters did. In my view, the fair solution is to send Kriegel to the General Election."

After the convention was adjourned, Turner spoke with the News Chronicle about Kriegel's absence and why he spoke on her behalf.

"It was obvious there was an awful lot of people supporting Kathy," he said.

Holtz's win

Following the convention, Holtz said the victory was the culmination of weeks of conversations with delegates after the June primary. She said many wanted to know why they should support the third-place finisher from the primary election, giving her the opportunity to explain what she believed she would bring to the office.

"I've had a lot of people ask me a lot of different questions, just what do I bring to the treasurer's office?" Holtz said. "My bottom line, kind of from my speech, is that I’m going to work hard. I'm trustworthy, and I'm friendly."

Holtz said one of the most common concerns she heard from voters was the atmosphere inside the treasurer’s office, saying she hopes to make county business a more welcoming experience. "I want everyone to feel welcome coming there," she said. "I already don’t want to write the check, so I want them to be happy, at least while they do it, and make them feel appreciated for paying their property taxes and doing the county business that they need to do."

Reflecting on the campaign, Holtz credited both her family and the delegates who took the time to meet with the candidates before casting their votes. She said she made a point of calling, emailing, and visiting delegates throughout the process while remaining true to herself. "

I am who I am, and I don't pretend to be someone I’m not," Holtz said. "I was just hoping that people would accept that. It seems like they did."

Holtz, a native of Sumner who now resides in Toledo, is mother of three and has lived in Tama County since 2000. Sheand has a background in accounting, though she now works as a full-time certified pharmacy technician at Hy-Vee. She previously ran for county treasurer in 2022 as an independent.