SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 8, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 11/11/08
Happy Veteran’s Day! I want to take a moment in appreciation of all the troops that serve and have served our country. I hope you will join me in thanking them for their service.
Northeastern Johnson County lost a living legend recently with the passing of Gene Krob. Colorful characters like Gene make a place special and unique. I have known Gene my entire life, and it is hard to imagine Sutliff and Solon without him. RIP, Gene.
The 2008 elections are in the books, and history has been made. Barak Obama will be the 44th President of the United States. This is the first time in my life I have ever picked a winner. I joined the Obama campaign in February of 2006, long before the election, and earlier than I had ever committed before. It has been a long haul, and it feels good!
I recognize that the media has spoken at length regarding the historic nature of this election. It would be easy to feel as though this has been overblown. As the father of three African American children, I can assure you that the result of this election makes a difference. I am not going to attempt to spell it all out here, but trust me… it matters.
Nationally, Democrats rode the Obama tidal wave and won between 57 & 59 seats in the US Senate (a couple are still to be decided), and Senator Tom Harkin was reelected easily. Congressman Dave Loebsack won handily, and will continue to represent Johnson County in the US House of Representatives.
At the State level, Democrats picked up a few seats in both the Iowa Senate and Iowa House. Congratulations and welcome to Larry Marek and Nate Willems, who will represent large areas of Johnson County in the Iowa House.
At the local level, turnout was amazing! A record 73,000 people voted, which amounts to just under an 80% turnout. In addition, 46% of the voters voted early, and over 1,200 registered on Election Day. County Auditor Tom Slockett was reelected after a spirited campaign.
Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to all the candidates. It takes courage to run – thanks for standing for something!
Finally, I want to say a few words about the local Land, Water, Future (LWF) campaign. I was extremely proud of this effort, and proud to publically stand with these wonderful people fighting for this worthy cause. They were outspent better than 2-1, and forced to fight lies at every turn. Yet they squeaked out a win with 60.8% of the vote.
There were two campaigns urging defeat of the issue. One was led by the Farm Bureau; it was factual and fair. My dealings with the local Farm Bureau have always been very positive, and this campaign reflected more of the same. We can respectfully agree to disagree.
The other campaign, known as “Flip No”, attempted to use all the best fear tactics of the Bush Presidency and the McCain campaign. Just as the nation as a whole rejected the politics of fear, the politics of hope won the day in Johnson County.
Flip No gave dire warnings of “30% tax increases” which in actuality are less than one percent.
We were warned that “people will lose their houses”. If you think you are going to lose a $100,000 house because of a $1.10 per month tax increase, you have bigger problems than that tax increase!
Flip No claimed the bond issue would hurt the local economy. Yet economic development experts here and elsewhere maintain that “quality of life” issues weigh heavily when businesses decide to expand or move.
Fear mongers claimed the county would lose significant income from properties leaving the tax roles – yet the County Assessor said in public meetings this fear was unfounded.
Even more beyond the pale, several Flip No supporters personally attacked LWF Campaign Co-chair Dick Schwab. If there is a more kind, generous, selfless, thoughtful man in all of Johnson County, I’d like to meet him. Dick Schwab represents all that is good in our community. As I fully expected him to do, Dick turned the other cheek. When you spread lies about Dick Schwab, you have lost all your credibility with me.
Public reaction to this is interesting. Proponents and opponents alike acknowledge how close this election was. On the other hand, bond issues are required to achieve a 60% supermajority. So LWF actually fared better than the US Senate (58%), US House (58%), Iowa House (56%), and Barak Obama in Iowa (54%), all of which were considered convincing wins. LWF achieved close to the same percentage that Senator Harkin received statewide (62%). Harkin’s win is viewed as overwhelming. The point is, the public was NOT split 50-50 on this issue. They were split 61-39. And 61-39 is convincing.
Unfortunately, the lies continue. Some people simply cannot accept the public verdict on this issue, so they will continue to attempt to undermine it through back door channels.
Interestingly, many elected officials ran and hid from LWF rather than taking a stand either way. I suppose they felt it would be 50-50 and that scared them. Now they run the risk of being criticized by both sides for playing it safe.
I hope Johnson County residents – opponents and supporters alike – will get involved in the public discussions that will be occurring on this topic over the upcoming months and years.
While the race wasn’t nearly as fun to watch as the others I have mentioned, I was also reelected Tuesday. I want to take a moment to thank everyone for all the support. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your County Supervisor. It is truly humbling to think that 41,000 people voted for me. I promise that I will never take this position lightly, nor will I ever take your thoughts and feelings for granted. Thank you very much for your trust and your votes.
A Republican friend of mine had called GOP Headquarters last week seeking voting advice on some down-ballot races. The advice he got in the Supervisors race? “Write in Mike Thayer instead of Rod Sullivan.”
On one level, that hurts. On another level, that is a badge of honor. I’m not sure what to make of it.
While it would be nice to have everyone in Johnson County behind me 100%, I know that can never be the case. That is particularly true if I am going to be outspoken. I do not see my style changing much… I guess I’ll have to live with some level of disapproval.
Meanwhile, I want to reaffirm my commitment to working with the people of Johnson County, regardless of political party. I promise to do my best to serve you. Thank you for the opportunity!
The Johnson County Local Homeless Coordinating Board endorses a sleep- out in remembrance of John, an Iowa City resident who died under a bridge (his home) in 2004. Campers will give up their warm beds on Saturday evening, November 15th and join together for evening activities--featuring a soup cook-off followed by campfires, musical entertainment, and special guests.
The HACAP facility will be open all night with warm rest rooms, warm coffee or tea and cookies. Sunday morning closing activities on the 16th include rolls and coffee with a sunrise service and blessing of the land before campers leave. To participate please download the necessary information at: http://www.shelterhouseiowa.org
DID YOU KNOW? Fish have vertical fins on their tails; aquatic mammals have horizontal fins on theirs.
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.
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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 @ 10:16 AM
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