SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 8, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/13/20
In this edition:
*President Harreld to Retire
*Sullivan for Supervisor
*Domestic Violence Awareness Month
*Photographing a Ballot
*Did You Know?
*President Harreld to Retire
University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld has announced his retirement pending the appointment of his successor. Regrettably, Harreld’s tenure at the UI has been a miserable failure in pretty much every way. Trust me, it hurts me to say that. I am an alumnus. I live in this community. I love the UI. My spouse works there. The past 5 years have been heartbreaking.
So, we have an opportunity to right the ship. Unfortunately, I am afraid we are in for more of the same. Governor Reynolds detests the University of Iowa. She hates the people of Johnson County. She will be determined to hire a person whose only job is to put the liberals in their place. The days of Governor Bob Ray and his commitment to the UI are now 40 years in the rearview mirror.
The Board of Regents is now is dominated by fealty to the Governor rather than a commitment to higher education. About half the Board are honest brokers; perhaps they can win the day. But I am not hopeful.
Here is hoping that UI faculty, staff, and students work hard to make their concerns known to the Regents, and that the Regents choose to listen. A strong UI is critical to the future of our state.
*Sullivan for Supervisor
With everything else going on, I sometimes forget to mention that I am on the ballot this fall. I am very proud of the work I have done, and I hope you will consider honoring me with your vote. Below is a quick argument for giving me another term:
I grew up on a Heritage farm (150 years in the same family) near Sutliff, and attended K-12 in the Lisbon school system. I am an alumnus of the University of Iowa. I have held several positions in the field of human services, including 6 years with the Department of Human Services and 6 years as Executive Director of the Arc of Johnson County.
I am married to Dr. Melissa Fath, a Research Scientist at the UI and a volunteer Pharmacist at the Free Medical Clinic. We have 3 adult children-Rachel, Jordan, and BJ, and have served as foster parents for another 50+ children.
I am a member of several community organizations, including: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parent Association, NAMI, Center for Worker Justice, ACLU Hawkeye Chapter, AFT Local 716, and Iowa City Federation of Labor. I also served 4 years as Chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party.
Some of the accomplishments of which I am proud:
· Leadership during the Covid-19 crisis.
· Leadership during ’08 floods.
· Raising the minimum wage – the 1st county in Iowa to do so.
· Passed a Human Rights Ordinance – the 1st county in Iowa to do so.
· Passed a Sensitive Areas Ordinance – the 1st county in Iowa to do so.
· Passed the Conservation Bond Initiative – the 1st county in Iowa to do so.
· Passed the Community ID Program – the 1st county in Iowa to do so.
· Started 1105 Project with gift of old Public Health building.
· Saved Sutliff Bridge after ’08 floods.
· Started trails funding.
· Created the Free Tax Help project.
· Created the Livable Community for Successful Aging.
· Added outdoor warning sirens to unincorporated Johnson County.
· Created the Local Foods Policy Council.
· Heritage AAA Outstanding Elected Official – 2009.
If reelected, my goals are:
1. Continue community recovery from Covid-19;
2. Begin serving people at the GuideLink Center;
3. Address Black Lives Matter issues;
4. Renegotiate 6 union contracts to the benefit of all.
I am grateful for your past support, and I thank you for your future consideration. I promise to never take this position for granted! I respectfully request your vote on or before November 3. Thank you!
*Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I want to take this opportunity to share some statistics with you.
The Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) has been serving Johnson County since 1979. Services include emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis line, support and advocacy services, youth services, and community education.
The State of Iowa mandated some consolidations a few years ago, and DVIP now serves 8 counties for most services, and 13 counties with their 24-hour crisis line. Johnson County sources make up about 25% of DVIP’s funding, but 60% of their clients come from Johnson County. They serve about 350 individuals in the shelter each year; 80% of them are Johnson County residents. Another 60 or so people annually are served through contracts with hotels. The average shelter stay is about 45 days.
There are many events scheduled for October; to see the whole list and/or to learn more about the Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP), visit dvipiowa.org.
*Photographing a Ballot
(Reprinted from an earlier Salvos.) There have been a few recent court cases regarding the photographing of voted ballots. I have already seen a few photos of voted ballots show up in my own Facebook feed. While this may seem innocent, I happen to believe the photographing of voted ballots could fundamentally undermine our democracy.
Snopes ran the following: “The answers to questions about whether it is illegal to photograph a ballot and post the results on the Internet, and what the penalties are for doing so, are "It depends." Regulations regarding voting procedure in the U.S. are set at a state level (or lower), so laws in this area vary quite a bit from place to place. In most states, however, it is the case that voters who upload photographs of their ballots to the Internet could indeed be risking criminal penalties.”
"It's a very unusual case," says Jeffrey Hermes, the deputy director of the Media Law Resource Center in New York. "Usually banning political speech would be a violation of the First Amendment. But with photography at polling places, there's an intersection of two fundamental aspects of democracy: freedom of speech and the integrity of the voting process."
“Hermes breaks it down this way: Suppose you were a nefarious character who wanted to skew the voting process in some way. You could buy votes, but you'd want proof that people actually voted like you told them to. You could mislead people who don't understand the voting process or don't speak English well. You could intimidate other voters into voting like you do.”
“In these cases, photos from inside the voting booth would really help you, the nefarious character, perpetrate election fraud. And so, many states have just banned those photos categorically. In this narrow circumstance, they've indicated, there's something more essential to democracy than free speech.”
This is not hyperbole. I can think of hundreds of scenarios where people could be coerced into showing someone else their voted ballot. Abusers could force victims of domestic violence to prove how they voted. Employers could force employees to vote a certain way or lose a job. Parents could force young adult children to vote a certain way or be forced out of college or out of the house. Churches, unions, and other membership organizations could begin to require proof of a vote as a condition for membership. Buying votes would become rampant. Who would pay the most for your vote? It is now for sale!
Sure, we could create a law that says it is illegal to coerce a person in these ways. Heck, my bet is such a law probably already exists. But good luck enforcing it! Those with power will always find new ways to coerce those without. It is simpler to just make it illegal.
I fully understand that this conflicts with a person’s First Amendment Rights. So I do not come to this conclusion lightly. I feel it is critical that we maintain the integrity of our democracy, and keep voted ballots private!
*DID YOU KNOW? The UI has had 6 Presidents (not including interim appointments) since 1982. That is an average tenure of about 6 years each.
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 rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home