Social justice advocate Indira Sheumaker defeats incumbent Bill Gray in Des Moines City Council race

Des Moines voters sent a new, young candidate to the City Council chamber in Tuesday's election, ousting a longtime incumbent, and supported keeping two other council members in office.  

The eight candidates for the three offices poured nearly $300,000 into the effort, spending on advertising, consultants and printed materials. 

Newly elected council members will be sworn into office Jan. 10, 2022. Here's a look at the races and the results.

Winner in Ward 1: Indira Sheumaker

First-time candidate Indira Sheumaker defeated incumbent Bill Gray in the Des Moines City Council’s Ward 1 race. Gray was first elected in 2014. 

Sheumaker received 46.36% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Auditor's Office. Gray tallied 36.32% and challenger Marcus Coenen finished with 16.82%.  

"I had a lot of faith in my campaign. I had a lot of faith on my team who worked so hard. I had a lot of faith in my vision," Sheumaker said. "But really my faith was cemented by the that we did what we set out to do ... reaching out to people who hadn't been reached out to, who hadn't been represented."

Sheumaker, who ran on a platform of defunding the police, is the first Black woman on the council in decades. The late Willie Glanton became the first Black Des Moines City Council member in 1985. 

Sheumaker said she would not have run for office if it weren't for her involvement in last year’s protests with the Black Liberation Movement.

“I got involved protesting, showing up to the (Iowa) Capitol, got tear-gassed ... and then a lot of members from organizations and older members of the community were encouraging us to go to City Council meetings,” Sheumaker previously told the Des Moines Register.

More:Here's how the Des Moines metro voted in Iowa's school board and city council elections on Tuesday

Sheumaker attended her first council meeting when the group voted on an ordinance to ban racial profiling by the police department. There, she said, she heard “a lot of passionate people” speak up — herself included — but she felt like city leaders moved quickly without considering additional action.

Sheumaker’s campaign, which launched in February, raised more than $30,000 from more than 1,000 individual donors. 

Looking ahead to January, when she will officially take her seat, Sheumaker said she's excited to get to work. 

"I've thought about it a lot," Sheumaker said about her first day in office. "There's so much to do."

Coenen, who is also the current president of the Beaverdale Neighborhood Association said he's looking forward to working with Sheumaker on future initiatives as she brings to Ward 1.

"I ran a campaign and said a lot that we needed new leadership on city council. And I think that's what we saw in Ward 1 today...It's not going to be me, but I'm happy that that's accomplished," Coenen said.

Winner for Ward 3: Josh Mandelbaum 

Josh Mandelbaum was elected to a second term on the Des Moines City Council, preliminary results from the Polk County Auditor's Office show.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Mandelbaum received 66.80% of the vote to defeat challengers Cory McAnelly, who received 20.23%, and Brandi Webber who received 12.67%. 

Mandelbaum was first elected in 2017 when he won 56.26% of the vote in a field including two other candidates.

"They both ran commendable races," Mandelbaum said of Webber and McAnelly. "I talked to voters and they pushed me to be a better candidate and councilmember and so I'm appreciative for the push they gave me and for what they brought to the race."

The environmental lawyer is known for supporting and advocating for sustainability initiatives such as investing in electric car charging stations and replacing the city’s vehicle fleet with electric vehicles. 

Earlier this year, the city council set a new goal for the city to achieve 100%, 24/7 carbon-free electricity by the year 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 -- something Mandelbaum had previously advocated for, but on a faster timeline.

During his 2021 campaign, Mandelbuam indicated support for several social justice initiatives, such as implementing a citizens review board and conducting a third-party review of the Des Moines Police Department. Mandelbaum also supported allocating resources and funding for mental health programs across the metro.

Winner in at-large race: Connie Boesen

Incumbent Connie Boesen has defeated political newcomer Justyn Lewis, preliminary results from the Polk County Auditor's Office show.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Boesen received 54.03% of the vote to defeat Lewis, who received 45.18%.

This will be Boesen’s second term on the City Council. In 2017, she won 54.38% of the vote against one other challenger.

Boesen ran on expanding the Invest DSM and Block Challenge Programs. Invest DSM is a program created in 2018 to help neighborhoods buy nuisance properties, demolish decaying homes and make other revitalization improvements. Currently, it is only available in four of Des Moines’ 52 neighborhoods. Boesen has said she would like to expand that to include more of the city’s neighborhoods.

Boesen also wants to increase funding to accelerate the construction of sidewalks across the city to make neighborhoods more walkable.

Melody Mercado covers Des Moines city government for the Register. Reach her at mmercado@registermedia.com or Twitter @melodymercadotv.