SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 10, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 8/15/17
In this edition:
*Happy Birthday, Melissa!
*Happy Birthday, BJ!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
*Cosgrove Pork Day
*Democratic Party Nominee for Governor
*Fred Hubbell
*Andy McGuire
*ICCSD Bond Facts
*Did You Know?
*Happy Birthday, Melissa!
My
wife Melissa celebrates her birthday on August 17th. Those of you
who know her know that I am a very lucky man!
Happy
Birthday, Honey! I love you!
*Happy Birthday BJ!
Son BJ turns 21 on
August 22. He is living a dream, working at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I
miss him every day! Happy Birthday, BJ! I love you!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
The
Lone Tree Fall Festival is August 18 - 20 in Lone Tree. This event is a great
opportunity to share some good times with the fine folks of Johnson County’s
“panhandle”!
*Cosgrove Pork Day
Sunday,
August 20 marks the annual St. Peter’s Catholic Church Pork Day in Cosgrove.
There is a Polka Mass at 11; pork dinners served 11-2; events for kids, bingo,
a beer tent, raffles, and much more!
*Democratic Party Nominee for Governor
There
is quite a race shaping up for the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa. And
that is a good thing, because I really believe this is the most important
election in Iowa’s history.
Who
do I support? No one, yet. Why? Because we have very important local races
ahead of us. We have Bond Votes and School Board candidates on the ballot in
September, and City Council candidates on the ballot in November.
My
focus is going to be local politics until mid-November. Then I’ll start to
worry about the race for Governor.
I
do have something to say about the campaigns, however. I have never been more
fed up with the infighting in the Democratic Party. The GOP is ruining this
Country and this State right before our eyes. In light of that, there is a
special place in Hell reserved for the people who are still litigating Bernie
versus Hillary. We need to move on. We have work to do! And we cannot allow
policy differences to turn into personal attacks.
So,
if you are a candidate that wants my support come November – tell your staff
and surrogates to treat the other Democratic Party candidates with respect.
That is the ONLY way you will secure my vote, no matter how good your policies
might sound.
*Fred Hubbell
In
a vein similar to what I just wrote, I am concerned by the number of Democrats
I hear dismissing Fred Hubbell. I have heard far too many people say they
“refuse to vote for the rich guy.”
Let’s
be clear – being wealthy does not make someone a bad person. Nor does it make
someone a bad Democrat.
Most
of the Presidents who did the most to help the poorest people in our society
(both Roosevelts, LBJ) were very wealthy people. They were able to make life
better for millions of poor and working class Americans, and being wealthy did
not get in the way.
Who
knows? Perhaps Fred Hubbell could do the same thing for hundreds of thousands
of Iowans. Or maybe not. But please make your decision based upon his proposed policies
and not based upon his net worth.
*Andy McGuire
I
have also heard a lot of people say that they will not be voting for former
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Dr. Andy McGuire. And that is fine – so long as you
do not follow that statement with a misogynistic rant!
Look
– Dr. McGuire may have led the Party through some difficult times, but she is a
good human being who is sincere in her desire to improve our state. She may not
deserve your vote, but she deserves your respect.
And
I am tired of hearing misogynistic statements about our female candidates! This
is a REAL problem, and we need to address it! The GOP seems to be able to keep
a lid on this – Democrats should be able to do the same!
I
repeat: if you are a candidate that wants my support come November – tell your
staff and surrogates to treat the other Democratic Party candidates with
respect. That is the ONLY way you will secure my vote, no matter how good your
policies might sound.
*ICCSD Bond Facts
As
you probably know, I am a big supporter of the upcoming bond referendum in the
ICCSD. Since this is a really important topic, I am going to dedicate a bit of
time to it each of the next few weeks.
The
first thing I want to discuss is the cost. It is true that $191.5 million is a
lot of money. But I think it is money very well spent. Here are some reasons
why:
1.
The
need is there. Every project on the list makes life better for students and
teachers.
2.
Money
is cheap right now. It is unlikely interest rates will ever be lower.
3.
Similarly,
construction costs are increasing at almost 10% annually. Wait 5 more years to
do a project, and you are paying 50% more for the same building.
4.
The
$191.5 million figure is very conservative. The payback assumes large increases
in interest that are unlikely to occur. (The finance people at the ICCSD can
explain how that total was reached.)
5.
The
ICCSD has bonds coming off the same time these would go on. It makes the
overall tax increase a very manageable $.98/$1000, or $4.25 per month on
$100,000 assessed value. Even if the bond passes, the ICCSD will still have the
lowest tax rate of any urban district in Iowa – lower than our neighboring
districts.
That is correct… people who live in Solon, Clear Creek-Amana,
Mount Vernon, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Davenport, Waterloo, Sioux City…all pay
a higher levy rate than taxpayers in the ICCSD.
Those are but a few of the important numbers. For more info,
please visit http://passthebond.com. And please join me in voting YES on or before September 12!
*DID YOU KNOW?
There are currently 8 candidates running for Governor of Iowa in the
Democratic Party: Ross Wilburn, Cathy Glasson, Andy McGuire, Jon Niederbach,
John Norris, Todd Prichard, Nate Boulton, and Fred Hubbell.
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 @ 2:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home