SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
February 4, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 2/5/08
Happy Superbowl! Happy Super Tuesday! And Happy Mardis Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Mardis Gras naturally leads me to think of New Orleans. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there has been some discussion nationally as to whether or not New Orleans ought to rebuild in the same location. The primary argument is simple - should those of us who live in areas less prone to disasters subsidize the rest?
I think we are asking the wrong question. New Orleans makes infinitely more sense than Las Vegas and Phoenix. For all our concerns over petroleum, the resource that really matters is water. We have seen several wars over oil; just wait until we have a war over water.
Back to the primary argument of New Orleans’ opponents - should those of us who have access to adequate water subsidize areas that do not?
Unsustainable development is a huge problem; I just don’t think New Orleans is where we should be focused.
The national political scene has moved away from Iowa, but plenty of local issues remain. As I have mentioned before, I am running for reelection to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. If you would like to get some information on my campaign, please visit http://www.rodsullivan.org/.
I am one of two Supervisors headed to Washington, DC next week as part of the annual Chamber of Commerce Corridor Federal Issues Trip.
This trip takes people involved in business and politics from the IC & CR area and puts them in DC in front of the staffs of Congressman Loebsack and Senators Harkin and Grassley.
I must admit – I wasn’t sure I’d ever participate in this endeavor. I was not sure I would find myself in ideological agreement with the efforts, and I am not particularly popular in the business crowd. Additionally, it is hard to leave Melissa as a single parent, even for a few days.
Then I got excited. I was under the (false) assumption we would be lobbying for some of the same issues we identified as priorities at JCCOG and its Linn County equivalent. Unfortunately, that is not how items are ranked. Instead, a small group of Chamber folks from each end of the Corridor get together and decide what issues we will push. This is disappointing, because their issues do not quite match up with the issues that local governments have already identified.
Local governments have fairly exhaustive public processes in use to help determine our priorities; no one from the Chamber (or any business) ever showed up to comment during these public hearings. If they had good arguments for different rankings, we should have heard about them long ago. It is entirely possible that the Chamber rankings are right and the elected folks are wrong, but we will never know, because there was no discussion. It is unfortunate that the judgment of these few people is then substituted for the decisions of elected officials who used open public processes. I would hope this process can be improved in future years.
Of course, it is a “Chamber Trip”, not a “Local Government Trip”, so they call the shots. The Chambers are certainly free to go advocate for the things they feel will improve their communities. And they should be complimented on their initiative.
That being said, perhaps local governmental officials should make a separate trip that better reflects the interests of the people they represent. The issues that get pushed are supposed to be beneficial to the whole corridor. Should public dollars be spent sending elected officials to lobby for priorities other than those determined through a public process? I think it is a fair question. The trip costs Johnson County about $3,400 for two people; given that they are taking more people, I am sure IC, CV, and NL are spending even more.
Interestingly, even though this is a Chamber trip, only 6 of the 25 Johnson County participants come from the private sector. 13 of the participants are from local governments, 3 from the UI, 2 from the quasi-governmental Convention and Visitors Bureau, and one from the nonprofit sector.
Part of my disappointment stems from the fact that I thought we were going to be doing more lobbying for two so-called “alternative” forms of transportation - trails and rail. Trails and rail are huge issues for our area, and very progressive in nature. These two issues have been discussed publicly as priorities. The population of the Corridor is excited by the possibilities. These are two issues that affect the whole Corridor rather than individual communities. We have the opportunity to be on the cutting edge in Eastern Iowa, but we cannot do it without federal cooperation. So these would have been great issues to push.
It sounds as though we might get a bit of time on these topics. If so, I’ll try to champion these two issues. Who knows, maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. I will let you know how it goes.
Speaking of modes of transit… a gentleman named Mike Barnhart runs the Neighborhood Transit Service in Cedar Rapids. He is pioneering bus service between CR & IC one week per month in the morning and afternoon.
It leaves the Ground Transportation Center in CR at 7 AM and 4 PM, and Old Capitol Mall in IC at 8 AM and 5 PM. The trip takes just under 45 minutes, and the cost is $7 per round trip.
I am SO excited about this effort! Kudos to Mr. Barnhart! Commuters – give this a try! Mr. Barnhart can be reached at 319-981-2823 with questions.
DID YOU KNOW? The US has 1.3 million active duty military personnel. In addition, there are about 1.1 million people in the Guard and Reserves, and an undisclosed number of private contractors.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 10:39 PM
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