SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 6, 2014
Sullivan’s
Salvos 6/10/14
In this edition:
*Father’s Day
*Election Results
*Registration Numbers
*North Liberty Fun Days
*Juneteenth
*Congratulations Karla Miller!
*Did You Know?
*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.
It has been several years since I have had the pleasure of
enjoying a living father or grandfather. If you are lucky enough to have a
father or grandfather around, please take a moment to reach out to him this
weekend.
*Election Results
The results are in, and we have our nominees for County Attorney
and County Supervisor. Turnout was relatively high, at over 10,000 voters.
In
the County Attorney’s race, incumbent Janet Lyness convincingly defeated
challenger John Zimmerman 69-31. I supported Janet and I am very happy for her.
But now the hard work begins!
While
John Zimmerman was not the right messenger, we know there is work to do in our
criminal justice system – particularly in the area of disproportionate minority
contact. I am confident that Janet will get to work on this, but we have a long
ways to go. I’m really glad she will be leading that charge.
In
the Supervisor race, incumbent Janelle Rettig finished first with 4522 votes.
Mike Carberry narrowly defeated Lisa Green Douglass 3458 to 3332 (126 votes) in
the battle for the other spot.
It
would be interesting to be able to determine the impact of 4th place
finisher Diane Dunlap. Dunlap garnered 1319 votes – frankly, that is more than
double what I’d predicted. Did those votes come equally from the other 3 candidates,
or did she siphon off more votes from a particular candidate?
It
will be interesting to see how Mr. Carberry’s supporters behave going forward.
Some are not Democrats, but others claim to be. It is clear that many of them
were anti-Rettig; will some of those claiming to be Democrats attempt to pull
off a Carberry-Etheredge pairing? If so, what does that mean for the local
Democratic Party?
In
other Democratic Party primary action, David Johnson defeated Dennis Boedecker
in a very close House District 73 race; only 30 votes separated the two
candidates. And Kevin Kinney smoked Richard Gilmore in the Senate District 39
tilt.
On
the GOP side, Mike Moore of Washington defeated Johnson County candidates Royce
Phillips and Bob Anderson to win the Senate District 39 nod.
So,
the stage is set. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all the
candidates for throwing their hats into the ring!
*Registration Numbers
Johnson
County Auditor Travis Weipert recently put out some very interesting voter
stats. I urge you to take a look at http://www.johnson-county.com/dept_auditor.aspx?id=14782.
Meanwhile, a few highlights: The precinct with the most registered
voters is Iowa City 17 (City High) with 2,224 registered voters. Graham (Morse)
has the least at 350.
Iowa
City 18 (Longfellow) had the highest percentage of Democratic registrations;
the top 9 were all in Iowa City. 54 of the 57 precincts have a higher
percentage of Democrats than Republicans.
Meanwhile, Sharon and Washington Townships in the far southwest
part of the county had the highest percentage of Republican registrations.
Those were two of the three precincts with a higher percentage of Republicans
than Democrats; the other is Jefferson East (Shueyville), which leans Republican
by less than a percentage point.
*North Liberty Fun Days
The community of North Liberty is celebrating Fun Days this
weekend with one final parade in honor of the late Tom Salm.
Unfortunately, North Liberty Fun Days has run out
of gas. Volunteers just can’t do it any longer. They are not raising enough
money. 2014 will be the final year.
I hope this is not a
sign of things to come. And I hope to see you in North Liberty this weekend!
*Juneteenth
Johnson
County is one of many partners collaborating to bring you the annual Juneteenth
celebration.
This
year’s event is Saturday, June 14 from 12-4 pm at Mercer Park in Iowa City.
(Rain location is inside the Scanlon Gym.) There will be free food, vendors,
entertainment, prizes, a health fair, a blood drive, and many events for the
kids.
This
event is free and open to the public. Please call 356-6090 for more
information.
*Words Of Wisdom
There
are a couple dozen folks in Johnson County who seem to be dedicated to the
proposition of making others miserable. It is just such a sad state of affairs.
Unfortunately, local politics seems as nasty as the National stuff.
Leonard Pitts recently wrote an excellent column about the way in
which our politics sometimes overruns our humanity. You can read it here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/17/4121571/partisan-gap-even-extends-to-tragedy.html
This whole thing leads me to think about an old Sufi quote:
“Before
you speak, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”
I
wish more folks would consider their comments through this prism. I know it is
something upon which I can work!
*Congratulations Karla Miller!
One
of my favorite people is stepping down! Karla Miller, longtime Director of the
Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) is retiring after years of service to
victims of sexual violence.
It
is easy to take someone like Karla for granted. She has provided decades of solid,
steady leadership in a very difficult arena. You have done well, Karla –
congrats!
*DID YOU KNOW?
The most candidates for the office of County Supervisor was 10 in 1976 –
the year the Board expanded from 3 to 5 members. There were 7 candidates in
both 1992 and 2004. (I finished third of seven in 2004.)
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.
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come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise
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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 @ 8:32 AM
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