SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 25, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/30/20
In this edition:
*Happy Independence Day!
*Covid-19 update
*Black Lives Matter Déjà Vu
*The “Full Grassley”
*Did You Know?
*Happy Independence Day!
Our 244th year is our most difficult in a long time. Still, happy birthday, America! We will get better!
*Covid-19 update
Unfortunately, Johnson County is seeing a spike in new Covid-19 cases. Well over 80% of these new cases are people 25 and under.
So, before you do what dozens have done before you, and write an email making demands of the Board? (Require mask wearing, close bars, or take some other step.) Please allow me to say for the one millionth time – we cannot do any of those things.
Iowa’s GOP Legislators and Governors have been actively taking away the power of local governments for the past six years. So all these things you want us to do? We can’t do them. I wish even one tenth of the people who write me demanding an action I cannot take would have instead written the Governor or a GOP member of the Legislature.
Can you sense the frustration? It is real, my friends!
*Black Lives Matter Déjà Vu
I was looking through some old emails on issues of race, and I found a letter I wrote to the Press Citizen in 2012. While there has been progress made, it is certainly both too little and too late. This was 8 years ago. You can certainly see why protesters are not willing to wait.
City police stop blacks 10 times more often than whites By Rod Sullivan
Hawkeye fans: how would you feel if the Hawkeye football team was playing, and the Hawks had been called for 10 penalties, while the opponents had only been flagged once?
Would you be angry? Would you demand an investigation? Would such a disparity be the talk of the town?
How about in basketball? Let's say the Hawks have been whistled for 10 fouls to only one for the opposition.
Would you be frustrated? Would thousands of people be booing? Would our coach have a "T"?
Ten to one is the ratio of black to white police contacts in Iowa City. In other words, if you are black, you will be stopped 10 times for every one time a white person gets stopped. This is known as "disproportionate minority contact," or DMC, and our 10:1 ratio is the highest in Iowa -- and one of the highest in the country.
DMC information is public record. If you don't believe me, check for yourself. Iowa City does not fare well when compared to our peers.
I urge you to ask any black resident about this phenomenon. I have yet to meet a single individual without a horror story to tell. The frustration is palpable. People of color are angry about this situation, and deservedly so. It is not fair. Two people can fix this immediately.
*Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine could simply commit to lowering the ratio. The opposite has been true in the past; the ICPD has previously "cracked down" on the SE side. He could give the order. He could make it a departmental goal. Unfortunately, the Chief has chosen to pretend the disparity can be blamed on calls for service.
The argument goes like this: "We don't stop people; we only respond to calls from the public."
Someone has called in about a "suspicious" black man, and the police are obligated to check it out. Even if this were true in every single case, the key is what happens next.
The officers have a great deal of discretion. They can simply drive on by. They can stop the person and question him. They can demand ID. They can resort to any number of charges if the person protests.
Police discretion does exist. Jaywalking is a crime, and it is committed hundreds of thousands of times every day in Iowa City. Yet few people get ticketed. Tickets are typically reserved for the rare instances where the jaywalker has caused an accident. This is an example of officer discretion.
*The other person who could fix this immediately is Iowa City Manager Tom Markus. Hargadine answers to the city manager. Markus could order the chief to improve our DMC ratio. Unfortunately, the city manager has chosen to ignore the issue.
So what can we do? Our only chance of improving this situation is getting the Iowa City Council to demand action. The council recently appointed an ad-hoc committee to look at issues of race. I am anxious to see what the council does in response to this group.
We would be outraged if the Hawks suffered from a 10:1 fairness deficit. Shouldn’t we be outraged that our fellow citizens suffer the same fate?
And remember, what the Hawkeyes do is just a game. DMC is no game; it has deep effects on the lives of our friends and neighbors. We can and must do better.
*The “Full Grassley”
There are many things in politics that make my blood boil. But nothing compares to the so-called “Full Grassley”. You know what this is, because we see it every year. A politician visits all 99 of Iowa’s counties.
Governor Reynolds just completed her drive by of Johnson County on Tuesday. As far as I can tell, no Iowa Legislators, School Board Members, City Councilors, or County Supervisors were informed of the stop. There was also no press availability.
Note that those same School Board Members, City Councilors, and County Supervisors spend hours every week accepting feedback from people, regardless of the content. It is part of the job.
We are dealing with a few different crises at the current moment. It would have been nice to have an opportunity to share a thought or two. But, that is it for this year. The Johnson County box is checked until next year's stealth visit.
Let’s be clear – this has always been a political stunt, and nothing more. But at least a few of the politicians doing it have taken the effort to talk to locals when they do it. The man for whom this tour is named – US Senator Chuck Grassley – ought to be ashamed by his inaccessibility.
Since 2011, Grassley has held only THREE public meetings in Iowa’s ten largest counties. THREE! In other words, half the population of Iowa never gets a chance to ask him a question.
Even worse, Grassley’s staff refuses to announce where or when he will be in a given county, so you can’t even hope to catch him walking to his car from the event you were not allowed to attend. And the press cannot react.
I think this is what makes me so angry. The behavior is the exact opposite of the myth, but he gets away with it.
The whole thing is shameful. I wish the media would quit simply printing his propaganda, and hold him accountable for his lack of accessibility to Iowans.
*DID YOU KNOW? There were about 750,000 slaves in the US as of the writing of the Constitution – 18% of the US population. Southern states, concerned with losing political power, created the Electoral College to ensure they maintained power without allowing slaves to vote. The Electoral College remains with us today.
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 @ 2:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home