CLINTON, Iowa — Voters in Clinton and Low Moor will return to the polls Tuesday to settle city council run-off races.

In Clinton, incumbent Ron Mallicoat is being challenged by Charlie Mulholland for an at-large seat. In Low Moor, voters will choose between Karl Greve and Robin Marlowe.

The Clinton City Council already will feature at least three new faces in the new year. Council member Bette Oakley chose not to seek re-election to the at-large seat, and council members Bob Soesbe, 1st Ward, and Darrell Smith, 3rd Ward, were defeated in the November election. Jennifer Graf was elected to one of the two at-large seats, Maggie Klaes was elected in the 1st Ward, and Bev Hermann was elected in the 3rd Ward.

The run-off election is necessary because Mallicoat and Mulholland both received 1,014 votes in the Nov. 3 election for the second at-large seat in a five-way race.

Mulholland, a political newcomer, said he believes the results of the November election show people in Clinton want new blood on the council.

“People are looking for change, new ideas, more follow-through,” Mulholland said.

Mallicoat agreed that the voters seem to want change, but said his experience on the council is valuable, too.

“In making all these changes, (voters) have to be careful not to take out too much experience,” Mallicoat said.

Both Mallicoat and Mulholland said they support a plan to sell the prison in nearby Thomson, Ill., to the federal government for use as a federal penitentiary, saying the project would bring good-paying jobs and new residents to Clinton.

Mallicoat said he has believed for years that Clinton should be building more housing because the prison would open eventually. He said the plan would have a profound effect on Clinton.

“It will change the whole labor market here,” Mallicoat said.

Mulholland said the plan would be one of the biggest economic boons in Clinton in years, and said he didn’t share concerns that bringing terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the prison in Thomson would make the community less safe.

In Low Moor, there were four candidates for five seats on the November ballot. Incumbents Thomas Goldensoph, Brenda Larkey, Marla Seidell and Steve Jones were re-elected. Greve received 16 write-in votes for the fifth spot, and Marlowe received 8. If Tuesday’s vote ends in a tie, the winner will be chosen by drawing a name out of a hat, Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker said.

Polls in Low Moor will be open from noon to

8 p.m. Polls in Clinton will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.