SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 9, 2012
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/12/12 In this edition: *Primary Election Results *Juneteenth *Pride Events *Father’s Day *ACLU Report Card *Did You Know? *Primary Election Results Congratulations to Representative Loebsack, Dick Schwab, and Travis Weipert for their wins in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. I believe strongly in all three men, and I hope those who supported other candidates will give them a chance. Thanks, too, to every candidate of either party who stood for election on Tuesday. We must have people who are willing to step up if we are going to be governed successfully. And thank you to the voters for supporting me as well! I promise never to take this position for granted! On to November! *Juneteenth Celebrating Juneteenth: Commemorating the End of Slavery! Club Kazi teams up with Johnson County Social Services, Iowa City Parks and Recreation, The Coalition for Racial Justice, IC Human Rights Committee, Diversity Focus and many more to sponsor a fun-filled event for families. Celebrating Juneteenth: Commemorating the End of Slavery will be held June 16 at Mercer Park in Iowa City from 12 to 6 pm. Volunteers and community members will assist in activities and games. There will be free food (while supplies last), vendors, music and live entertainment. Children can enjoy story time, a bouncy house, clowns, face painting and water games courtesy of the IC Fire Department. Adults will be able to enter into a Bid Whist and Spades Tournament. There will be a Health and Financial Wellness Fair indoor, and a chance for participants to win wonderful door prizes. This is an event for all community members and an opportunity for families to come out and enjoy a summer day in June with their loved ones. Please come out and join us at this historic event! Club Kazi is a group of professional African Americans living and working within the Linn/Johnson County corridor. Club Kazi is dedicated to improving the quality of life for African Americans in the greater Iowa City area. We work together on many areas of public need including improving foster care for Black children and families to strengthening and empowering the Black family. For more information, please contact: LaTasha Massey, Community Projects Specialist at Johnson County Social Services 356-6090. *Pride Events The 2012 Iowa City Pride Parade and Festival will take place on Saturday, June 16, to once again bring joy into your life. The Parade starts at College Green Park at 12 noon and marches through downtown Iowa City. (Check-in/line-up begins at 11 a.m.) The Festival occupies downtown Iowa City on the Pedestrian Mall from approximately noon to 5 p.m. I am always glad to say I live in a community where people can come together to celebrate diversity. My proudest moment as a Supervisor was the passage of the Johnson County Human Rights Ordinance. We have much to celebrate - I hope you’ll join us at the Pride events! *Father’s Day Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! Being a dad is the best thing I have ever done. It is also the most difficult. I imagine that is the case for most fathers. I know I miss my own dad terribly even though he has been gone for almost 15 years. Please make a point of taking some time on Sunday the 17th to reach out to a positive male influence in your own life. *ACLU Report Card The ACLU of Iowa put out its annual Report Card, which grades all 150 Iowa Legislators on their civil liberties voting records. This was an interesting session from a civil liberties perspective. Typically, the more conservative Republicans tend toward a score of zero; the more liberal among the Democrats routinely score in the 90s. There are often one or two bills that cut across party lines and skew scores a bit; this year, there were several. I am a longtime member of the Hawkeye Chapter of the ACLU, so this information is important to me. I remember that former Iowa City Representative Minnette Doderer retired with a career score of well over 90, which is particularly remarkable given the length of her career. So over the years, scores tend to be reflective of an official’s record. But a look at a single year requires some in-depth study. Allow me to offer an example: Locally, Rep. Jacoby scored a 75%, which grades out as a “C”. But Dave was dinged for voting against SF430, the Public Information Board. Representative Jacoby has long argued that if the Legislature is going to require city councils, school boards, counties, and other local governments to follow open meeting rules, the Legislature should follow the same rules. It only makes sense – like those other bodies, the Legislature is doing public business and spending public dollars. There is no reason for secrecy. So, Dave has taken a principled stand and voted against every iteration of this bill until the Legislature decides to play by its own rules. This is a courageous, honorable position that is all about good government, and Dave deserves a great deal of credit for sticking to his guns. So on the ACLU score sheet, Jacoby is dinged for a vote against open government. In my book, he deserves props for that vote, not a black mark! There are other examples of nuanced votes that are difficult to score as either a + or -. Still, I find the ACLU scorecard to be a very helpful tool. I actually wish the local ACLU graded Supervisors, City Councilors, and School Board members! Other scores of note: Senator Joe Bolkcom, 88% for a B+; Senator Robert Dvorsky, 75% for a C; Representative Vicki Lensing 87% for a B+; Representative Mary Mascher 81% for a B-; Representative Jared Klein (yes, he currently represents large portion of Johnson County) 38% for an F; Representative Jeff Kauffman 31% for an F; and Representative Nate Willems 75% for a C. You can find the whole scorecard at: http://www.aclu-ia.org/iowa/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/6-2-2012-voting-report-card-.pdf *DID YOU KNOW? Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, is a holiday honoring African American heritage by commemorating the day that slaves in Texas finally learned of the abolition of slavery in 1865. 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. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. 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 @ 11:21 AM
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