Hemmer wins Jamestown mayoral race, ends Heinrich’s bid for another term

Katie Hemmer will become Jamestown’s next mayor after voters turned out Mayor Dwaine Heinrich, ending his bid for a third term and signaling a clear desire for change at the top of city government. Hemmer finished with 1,198 votes in unofficial results, ahead of Heinrich’s 851 and Pat Davis Sr.’s 498.

The result hands Jamestown a new mayor at a time when the city’s immediate agenda will revolve around basic services, development pressures, budgeting and public confidence. Heinrich was first elected in June 2018 and re-elected in June 2022, so the June 9 outcome closes a notable chapter in city leadership and begins a transition that is set to take effect July 6.

The race was one of the most visible contests on the Stutsman County ballot and came alongside other city and county decisions. Jamestown City Council member David Steele was unopposed in the same election cycle, and the city government’s structure places the mayor alongside four elected council positions in shaping policy and day-to-day administration. That means Hemmer’s victory will affect not just the ceremonial face of city hall, but the working balance of power that guides decisions across Jamestown.

Voting in Jamestown centered at the Civic Center, 212 3rd Ave. NE, where Stutsman County directed June 9 primary voters to enter through the north, ground-level doors and the Exchequer Room entrance. The county’s election setup underscored the importance of the contest in Jamestown, the county seat in North Dakota’s second-largest county by area, where municipal politics and countywide voting routines overlap at the same familiar location.

Hemmer’s margin over Heinrich was large enough to leave little doubt about the direction voters wanted city leadership to take. With the switchover still weeks away, the current administration will remain in place until July 6, but the election result has already set the tone for the next chapter at Jamestown City Hall.