SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 15, 2014
Sullivan’s
Salvos 5/20/14
In this edition:
*Congratulations, Lolo!
*Memorial Day
*Solon Volunteer Fire Breakfast
*Where Are These Liberals When I Need Them?
*Property Tax Rates
*Did You Know?
*Congratulations, Lolo!
Congratulations
to Loshika Embry on her graduation from City High this weekend. Loshika (also
known as Lolo) has been living with us since the start of the school year.
It is not easy to just jump into a new family. Many kids do not
deal with it well. I cannot imagine having to go live with people I had never
met for my Senior year. It would be easy to feel sorry for oneself. Lolo has
been a real trooper, and deserves a lot of credit for maintaining a good
attitude.
Lolo has stayed plenty busy with basketball and track, plus GLOW
Club and a few more activities. She has made the most of her time at City High.
Lolo
will be with us through the summer, then moves to Cedar Rapids to begin at
Kirkwood in August. I am sure she will be successful! Congratulations, Lolo! We
are proud of you!
*Memorial Day
Monday,
May 26 is Memorial Day. I hope you
have a wonderful holiday, and I hope you spend at least a part of it
remembering those who have served our Country. Happy Memorial Day to all!
*Solon Volunteer Fire Breakfast
The
Solon Firefighters will host the 51st Annual Solon Firefighter's Breakfast from
6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25 at the Solon Fire Station, 131 N. Iowa
St.
The
breakfast is all you can eat and the menu includes: pancakes, scrambled eggs,
fried eggs, patty sausage, sliced ham, milk and coffee. Cost is free for
preschool children, $4 for children 12 and younger and $6 for adults. For more
information, call 624-2386.
*Where Are These Liberals When I Need
Them?
You
already know where I stand in terms of the race for County Attorney. I support
incumbent County Attorney Janet Lyness. I won’t belabor the point. But I have a
sincere question for the folks who want Janet out of office.
The
question is: where have you been? The list of progressive changes I’d like to
see is LONG!
We
need a huge investment in affordable housing. That is unlikely to happen
currently. We need a real commitment to diversity. That is unlikely to happen
currently. We need a bigger commitment to human services. That is unlikely to
happen currently. We need a complete overhaul of the way we do economic
development and municipal finance. That is unlikely to happen currently. We
could be much more progressive in terms of the way we tax. That is unlikely to
happen currently. We need a greater commitment to open government. That is
unlikely to happen currently. We could change police priorities once and for
all. That is unlikely to happen currently.
If
the group that supports Mr. Zimmerman really got focused, they could easily tip
the balance in local races. In a typical year, 3,000 votes will get a person a
seat on the Iowa City Council. 2,000 votes used to get you a seat on the ICCSD
Board; it might require 3,000 now. 800 votes will usually get it done in
Coralville. Only 500 votes are necessary in North Liberty.
Let’s
say you are concerned about racial disparity in the criminal justice system.
Let’s say you want to change the way police deal with small amounts of pot.
Does it make more sense to take on the most liberal County Attorney in Iowa, in
a Democratic Party primary, or to try to win a couple Council seats?
I
am not trying to tell anyone to quit the current campaign. Each of us should
follow our passions. I simply want to see this progressive activism carry over
into more races.
Many
people bragged about the turnout in the last round of school elections. Almost
broke their arms patting themselves on the back. You know what turnout was? 7%
in Clear Creek Amana. 12% in the ICCSD. 19% in Solon. We are happy about this?
And
activism does not simply mean elections. Why is it that I am on the losing end
of so many 3-2 votes? Why is it such a struggle to fund human services, to get
better environmental policies, and to be generally more progressive?
The
Board of Supervisors has had three or four CRITICAL environmental votes in the
past 2 years. And these votes are NOT the ones that the so-called
“environmentalists” showed up for. We won a couple, and we lost a couple. But
the environmental community was NOWHERE to be found! Where are these
progressives when I need them?
Why
is it such a struggle? I can answer my own question. Because people don’t get
involved. The big question is WHY? Why so much focus on County Attorney, and so
little on everything else? Why can’t we connect the dots?
We
can do some very progressive things here, but only if people get involved when
and where it matters.
*Property Tax Rates
It
is campaign season in Johnson County. That means you are going to hear many half-truths.
For example, lots of people like to lie about property tax rates in Johnson
County, claiming, “they are some of the highest in the country!”
Wrong!
Here are the facts - 43 Iowa Counties have higher property tax rates than
Johnson County, ranking Johnson 44 out of the 99 counties. (Source: Iowa State
Association of Counties.)
Elections
do not give people license to lie about the facts. When somebody tells you your
property tax rates are high, I hope you will set them straight.
*DID YOU KNOW?
On May 30, 1868,
President Ulysses S. Grant presided over the first Memorial Day ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery -- which, until 1864, was Confederate Gen. Robert
E. Lee's plantation.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"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 @ 11:50 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home