SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 30, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 12/5/17
In this edition:
*Family
*Goodbye, Mickey!
*Candidates, Parties, and Johnson County
*Woman Flipping Off the President
*Being “Rural”
*Iowa’s Cities
*Did You Know?
*Family
I
am excited! My kids will all be gathering at our house this next week!
My
son BJ now works at Disney World in Orlando. It is REALLY hard to get time off
at Disney between November 15 and January 15, so we are really glad that he got
away. He worked Thanksgiving, and can work Christmas, and score some points.
My
daughter Jordan works at a place almost exactly like Four Oaks in Memphis,
Tennessee. Because the kids live at the facility, it is also a job that
requires people to work on holidays. Jordan, too, worked Thanksgiving and can
work Christmas.
My
daughter Rachel already lives with us, along with boyfriend Collin and baby
Zuri. This will be the first opportunity her aunts and uncles will have to see
her in person!
In
addition, their sister Dashianne and her son Kyson will be here from
Indianapolis!
I
will be honest – I struggle with my kids living so far away. I know, I know –
they could be even further! I’m just really happy to have this time!
*Goodbye, Mickey!
Johnson
County is saying goodbye to our Grants and Communications Specialist Mickey
Miller. If you have noticed all the tweets, posts, and info coming from Johnson
County – that is Mickey at work. Plus, she has helped us to secure several tens
of thousands in grant funding over the years. Thanks, Mickey, for all your
great work!
Mickey
is leaving to focus on her small business – Mount Vernon Confections (http://www.mvconfections.com).
The chocolate is great- please check them out online or on Main Street in Mount
Vernon!
*Candidates, Parties, and Johnson
County
As
I have mentioned previously, I have yet to choose a Gubernatorial candidate.
Regardless of which candidate I choose, I can tell you what I am going to
demand from her or him. The same goes for anyone running for Statewide or
Federal Office, and political parties:
Quit
using Johnson County! I am REALLY tired of Democratic candidates and the
Democratic Party engaging in a one-way relationship with the people of this
county!
Here
is what happens 95% of the time: The candidate/party leader shows up at a
fundraiser, and laughs about “how great it is to be here in Democratic Johnson
County!”
Next,
she/he extracts an inordinate amount of campaign contributions and volunteer
time from the people of Johnson County. Then, if things go REALLY well, she/he
is elected, with Johnson County providing a 30,000 (or more) vote Democratic
margin.
Then
we move to governing. Now the newly elected person/party has bad news: she/he
can’t support any progressive legislation. Because, well, “There are other
counties out there, you know! They aren’t all like Johnson County!”
I
am tired of dancing this same dance every two years. Step up, Democratic
candidates and Democratic Party!
*Woman Flipping Off the President
I’m
sure many of you have seen the image of the woman riding her bike who flipped
off President Trump’s motorcade. I’m sure many of you have also heard that she
lost her job as a result.
There
is one simple way to make certain this never happens to you: join a union. If
there is no union where you work, form one. It is not easy, but it is truly the
only protection against this type of thing.
*Being “Rural”
I
just wrote something similar to this a couple months ago. But the same tired
arguments keep popping up. But this is a topic I care a lot about, so here we
go again:
There is a lot of
talk about the “urban-rural divide.” While there is certainly something to
this, I think it is largely a political construct. There are people who benefit
from making things “us versus them” rather than bringing everyone together.
I guess what really
chaps me is people who grew up in Chicago, Des Moines, and Bettendorf trying to
tell me I do not understand farm life. I take that really personally.
I grew up way out in the country, on a gravel road, a few miles
from the nearest paved road. I rode
the school bus 40 minutes each way. We had a party line phone. Rather than buy
eggs at the store, we gathered them from a cousin’s hens. Though we didn’t use
them, our house had an outhouse, a summer kitchen, a cistern, and a root
cellar.
BOTH
SIDES of my Mom’s family have Heritage Farms. You know Century Farms? That is
100 years. Heritage Farms are 150 years in the same family. My family has been
farming the same area since before Iowa was a state!
As a young person, I did just about every type of farm work. I
baled hay, walked beans, hayed horses, picked sweet corn, detassled corn, moved
cattle, loaded hogs, and picked apples, just to name a few.
Want
to talk rural? I am happy to talk rural! I will put my rural bona fides up
against just about anyone! So don’t tell me “no one on the Board understands
rural life.” First, you are wrong. Secondly, I take deep offense at that.
If
you want to talk policy, we can talk policy. But don’t challenge my roots,
‘cause brother, they are deep!
*Iowa’s Cities
I
was at a Legislative forum the other day, and picked up these tidbits from the
Iowa League of Cities:
As of 2010, Iowa had 947 incorporated cities. (The number is
slightly lower now.) Over 490 of those cities are home to less than 500 people.
Over 750 of those cities lost population over the past ten years!
Cities in Johnson County look much different. No cities in Johnson
County are below 500 people. No cities in Johnson County lost population. Iowa
City ranks as Iowa’s 5th-most populous city at 77,000 residents,
while Coralville (20,200) and North Liberty (19,000) come in at numbers 24 and
25.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Iowa’s largest city is Des Moines, with about 215,000 residents. Beaconsfield
and LeRoy are tied for the honor of smallest city at 15 people each. (Source:
Iowa League of Cities.)
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
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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 @ 11:19 PM
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