SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 18, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/23/19
In this edition:
*Loebsack Retirement
*LEED Gold!
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
*Arts and Culture Funding
*Did You Know?
*Loebsack Retirement
The big news of the past week was Congressman Loebsack’s decision to retire. We will talk about the impact of this decision in a moment, but first, some reflections:
I met Dave in the early ‘90s. Despite living in Mount Vernon (Linn County) at the time, Dave often attended meetings and events of the Johnson County Democrats. We actually became quite close during the campaign of 1998. Loebsack took time away from teaching at Cornell to run the Senate campaign of our mutual friend, David Osterberg. Melissa and I volunteered heavily on that campaign, and I worked alongside Dave almost every day.
Six years later, I was elected to the Board of Supervisors. Two years after that, I served as part of a “kitchen cabinet” for Loebsack as he ran for Congress against longtime incumbent Jim Leach.
Timing is everything in politics, and Loebsack’s timing was perfect. While I cannot say I saw this coming in 2004, there were signs. Leach’s opponent that year (Dave Franker) wisely changed the focus from Leach himself to the Republican Majority he was empowering. The attack worked. Leach had no answer for his party, and you could see him getting frustrated and tired. But Franker’s criticism was spot on. Even Leach knew it. His party was hurting America. Two years later, Loebsack caught Leach even more frustrated and tired.
Of course, it wasn’t just Leach’s weak effort. Anyone who knows Dave knows that he works very hard. He spoke face to face with thousands of voters that year. He gave skeptical voters faith that this college professor who had grown up on Medicaid and Social Security was going to work hard to protect Medicaid and Social Security for them.
I will never forget Election Night 2006. Loebsack and Leach were neck and neck. As the night went on, two big voting blocks remained out – Muscatine County and the Johnson County absentee vote. Muscatine came in. Loebsack was up or down something like 25 votes; I cannot recall which. And I started celebrating! I knew the Johnson County absentee would be a blue wave. And it was! 20 minutes later, everyone joined me in celebrating, as Loebsack won the Johnson County early vote by 6,000 votes and sealed his victory.
Dave went on to have some fairly close calls over the years, and moved from Mount Vernon to Iowa City in order to hold onto the seat. But he defended the seat 5 more times, and kept Iowa’s Second District in Democratic hands.
A funny story: I have cousin who is a writer. We were having a party at our house once, and my cousin told me was going to do something on politics, but found it too depressing. “Members of Congress are completely inaccessible to the common person,” said my cousin. I replied, “Well, your Congressman is in the kitchen right now if you want to test your theory!” Just another example of how Dave gets places!
What next? Who knows? I hear a lot of people mentioning former State Senator Rita Hart of Wheatland, who ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2018. I hear people mentioning Iowa City business owner Veronica Tessler. Whatever the case, I hope we get multiple good candidates. We need a spirited primary. No one should inherit the nomination.
On the GOP side, I expect Dr. Christopher Peters to run again, as he has the past two cycles. Perhaps he will be joined by Dr. Marianette Miller Meeks, now an Iowa Senator, who ran unsuccessfully on three previous occasions. Look for either Jeff or Bobby Kaufmann to join them in the race. And trust me, the Kaufmanns will have millions to spend!
2020 should be a decent year for Democrats, but this Congressional District is the very definition of purple. It will be a dogfight! The very best way to honor Loebsack’s legacy is to keep this District represented by a Democrat!
Meanwhile, Dave still has over a year’s worth of work to do! Congratulations to Dave and Terry on their upcoming retirement! They have earned it! Thank you for your service!
*LEED Gold!
On Thursday, April 18thJohnson County unveiled a plaque acknowledging Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the Johnson County Ambulance Service and Medical Examiner Facility. LEED helps ensure buildings, homes and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for environmental benefits and human health.
OPN Architects were the facility designers and Portzen Construction was the general contractor. Sustainability and energy efficiency are county-wide priorities. The County has three other LEED certified buildings: the Health and Human Services Building (silver) as well as the Conservation Headquarters (gold) and the Conservation Maintenance Facility (gold), both at Kent Park.
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
The Johnson County Democratic Party is holding our Annual Hall of Fame Awards on Saturday, May 11 at 7pm at Brown Deer in Coralville. 2019 marks the 9thconsecutive year that the Johnson County Democratic Party has held a separate Hall of Fame event.
Please join us for coffee, desserts, and plenty of old war stories! A cash bar will be available.
The Hall of Fame inductees for 2019 are: Sarah Swisher and Gary Smith, Valerie Kemp, Orville and Billie Townsend, and the late Kurt Friese. We hope you can join us in recognizing this remarkable group!
Tickets are available for a $25 suggested donation. People who cannot afford that amount should still feel welcome, but please call 354-7199 so we can get a count. Sponsorships are available at the following levels:
$100 includes two tickets
$250 includes 4 tickets
$500 includes a whole table (8 tickets)
$100 includes two tickets
$250 includes 4 tickets
$500 includes a whole table (8 tickets)
*Arts and Culture Funding
For the first time in my tenure as a Supervisor, the Board discussed funding for arts and culture. I am curious as to your thoughts.
A bit of background: County governments have been charged with two primary functions since counties were developed in medieval England. One is to maintain the roads. The other is to care for the poor. Both things are still primary functions of county government, but the scope has grown to include many additional things.
One area where the Board has not previously gone is the area of arts and culture. Iowa City and Coralville spend a fairly significant amount in this arena. The state and federal governments spend, but at a far reduced rate from the past. The county, meanwhile, has done nothing.
Some Iowa Counties do contribute to funding arts and culture. Polk County does quite a bit, though much of that comes through gambling revenues that we lack. Linn County has also done some spending.
I’ll be honest; I have some guilt in this area. When I was young activist, back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, I often found myself opposed to funding arts and culture. I was a social worker, and my first priority was always basic human needs – food, shelter, etc. The business crowd that ran local government at the time was very cagey about pitting those of us who wanted funding for human needs versus those who wanted funding for arts and culture. They pitted us against each other every time – with great success, I am disappointed to admit.
Unfortunately, it took me a long time to figure this out. Now that I understand municipal budgets, I know that we were all being used against each other. And I don’t want to see that happen again.
So, my thought has been for Johnson County to create a small Arts and Culture grant program. A small pot of money would be set aside every year, then granted to projects that target communities who are underserved by the arts, geographically or otherwise.
As you are probably aware, the Republicans in the Iowa Legislature hate everything about Johnson County. They have eliminated our local control in several areas, and are looking to eliminate it in others. Simply because I am mentioning this, Bobby Kaufmann will probably introduce a bill to make it illegal. So there is no guarantee that funding will be available even one year, let alone on an ongoing basis.
But so long as we have the resources, I would like to see what could be accomplished in this area. Andre Perry and Katie Roche from the Englert and Joe Tiefenthaler from Film Scene seem excited by the idea. What are your thoughts?
*DID YOU KNOW? The Bhimbetka and Daraki-Chattan cupoles are the oldest pieces of prehistoric art ever discovered and have been dated to around 700,000 BC. They were discovered in two ancient quartzite caves in the Madhya Pradesh region of central India.
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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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 @ 1:09 PM
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