Election time: One week to go

Municipal elections are coming up next Tuesday (November 6th). Here are some of the candidates:

Des Moines Mayor:

• Frank Cownie, who's already mayor, and who (inexplicably) allowed www.cownieformayor.com to lapse
• Diana Newberry, a 34-year-old who previously ran for the governor's office as a member of the preposterous Socialist Workers Party, which it remains difficult to believe still exists. Marc Hansen seems puzzled that no one else signed up for the race. I'm going to remain puzzled why anyone still thinks Fidel Castro is getting things right.
  

Des Moines City Council At-Large:

• Chris Coleman, who's currently on the council
  
• Josh Daines

Des Moines City Council Ward 2:

• Bob Mahaffey, currently on the council, runs unopposed

Des Moines City Council Ward 4:

• Brian Meyer, who is currently on the council, is unopposed
  

West Des Moines City Council At-Large:

• Jim Sandager

West Des Moines City Council Ward 2:

• Charles Schneider
• Rob Grove

West Des Moines Parks Commission (three open seats):

• Forrest L Ridgway (no website, but he's already on the parks commission)
• Two other seats will be filled by write-in ballots

The list of contested races is short, but we can always hope that people will show up to vote. The more voters participating, the more legitimate the outcome of the vote.