Tight race in runoff for Waterloo mayor

Associated Press - December 1, 2009 10:54 PM ET

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - The unofficial count may be too close to call in Waterloo's mayoral runoff election.

The final count Tuesday night showed Buck Clark barely edging out Steve Schmitt. According to those unofficial numbers, Clark received 49.96 percent of the vote, and Schmitt received 49.63 percent.

Just 29 votes separated the candidates, and election officials say 58 absentee ballots were still unaccounted for.

The 60-year-old Clark, who is a former police officer, took nearly 44 percent of the ballots cast in a three-way election Nov. 3. Schmitt, who is also 60 and an at-large city councilman, took 33 percent of the Nov. 3 vote to earn a spot in the runoff with Clark and send third-place finished Reggie Schmitt to the sideline.

Information from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, http://www.wcfcourier.com