SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 15, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/20/20
In this edition:
*RIP Edith Hargrave
*RIP Carolyn Gross
*Drive Through Voting
*Constitutional Convention
*Judges
*Get Others to Vote!
*The Room Where It Happens
*Did You Know?
*RIP Edith Hargrave
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Edith Hargrave of Iowa City. I met Edith through Democratic Party politics, and she had quite a story to tell on that front. Edith and her husband Bill were real pioneers among Democrats in Johnson County. Bill was the first African American to serve as a Deputy in the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and the first African American to represent Johnson County in the Iowa Legislature. Edith was the first African American inducted into the Johnson County Democratic Party Hall of Fame.
Edith was sill making phone calls for candidates into her 80s. She called from my house pretty much every two years between ’06 and ’16, and she was as caring, polite, and lovely on the phone as she was in person. RIP, Edith.
*RIP Carolyn Gross
Another passing of note is Carolyn Gross of Iowa City. Carolyn was the model small business owner. Technigraphics was extremely successful, and Carolyn shared the fruits of that success with the community. From the Chamber to ICAD to the Downtown District to Shelter House to the Boy Scouts to CommUnity Crisis Services to the local Democratic Party and so much more, Carolyn’s leadership and good works touched many people. RIP, Carolyn.
*Drive Through Voting
My daughter Rachel and I took advantage of drive through voting on Wednesday the 7th. It was really easy and safe! We pulled in at 10:45 AM, and got the ballots at 11:15. It took 5 minutes to fill out the ballot, and we were on our way. I expect lines will grow even shorter after the initial rush. Great job, Auditor's Office!
*Constitutional Convention
One of the questions you will see on your ballot is, “Should Iowa hold a Constitutional Convention?” This actually appears on Iowa ballots in every year ending in zero. The basic idea is that the State Constitution is a living document, and can be changed.
While I appreciate the sentiment, I voted no. Here are just a few reasons why:
1. The risk is too great. There are too many things too important to me (like LGBTQ civil rights) that could be taken away via a Constitutional Convention.
2. The rules are not laid out. When is the Convention held? How many delegates? How are delegates chosen? What are the voting procedures? Until and unless the Iowa Legislature clarifies this and much more, I will always be a No.
3. Big money would dominate such a Convention. This is particularly ironic, since one thing a Convention would likely feature is an Amendment limiting money in politics. But until such a rule passed, the big money would dominate.
4. There are other methods. In 2008, Iowans amended our Constitution to eliminate offensive words like “idiot” from the text. So it can be done.
The Iowa Constitution could definitely use some updating. But holding a Constitutional Convention is simply too great a risk.
*Judges
I have also had a lot of people ask me about voting on judges. Personally, I took what might be considered a hybrid approach.
The Iowa State Bar Association conducts a Judicial Performance Review in order to give information to voters on the judges up for retention that year. (To rate a judge, attorneys must have appeared before him or her frequently.) According to the 2020 Review, every judge on our ballot passes this test. So I voted to retain all the local judges.
On the other hand, the Iowa Supreme Court Justices upheld the gutting of Chapter 20, which removed collective bargaining rights for thousands of Iowans. So I voted against every single one of them.
Yes, if the Justices were voted out, Governor Reynolds could in theory replace them with people who are worse. But you know what? I don’t care. I want a pound of flesh. To Hell with them.
*Get Others to Vote!
Not only is it critical that YOU vote, but you need to actually step outside of your comfort zone and help others to do the same. I am not referring to phone calls here, though that is important, too. Actually engage someone who might need some help voting. Do you know any high schoolers who are 18? College students? Seniors? The barista you see every morning? A coworker? Think about the people you know, then reach out! Help them to make a plan, and help them to execute it.
*The Room Where It Happens
My good friend Larry Baker is an astute observer of politics, and spent some tumultuous years on the Iowa City Council. He shared some wisdom with me years ago that bears repeating now. Larry said, “95% of all votes could be taken by a trained monkey. That 5% is why we hold elections.” He could not be more correct.
Every elected body is the same in this way. You vote to approve the minutes. You vote to pay the bills. You vote to accept various reports. You vote to acknowledge Domestic Violence Awareness Month (as we did two weeks ago), or Indigenous People’s Day (as we did last week). You take literally dozens of noncontroversial votes every single meeting. Larry’s estimate of only 5% being meaningful is right on.
This is why Bobby Kaufmann was so disingenuous when debating Lonny Pulkrabek. Kaufmann tried to claim a bipartisan record by explaining how frequently he voted with Mary Mascher. Sure. The Legislature takes even more of these perfunctory votes than does the Board. Everyone votes the same way most of the time. But as Larry Baker notes, 5% of the votes are why we hold elections. Pulkrabek is a kind and decent public servant. Kaufmann is a partisan hack. 5% MATTERS!
As for the Board of Supervisors, this became a hot topic a few years ago when Gazette columnist Adam Sullivan began poking around. Sullivan did the quick math, and noted that Supervisors vote the same way the vast majority of the time. (By the way – this is an example of good local journalism. It is exactly what Sullivan should be doing!)
Sullivan took this information to Supervisor Rettig, whose response was to quit speaking to the Gazette. Sullivan took it to then-Supervisor Mike Carberry, who nailed the answer: we do a lot of negotiations BEFORE items come up for a vote. Often there has been a great deal of disagreement, but we have worked it out. So the agreement you see in votes is the result of lots of compromise.
That is why I would urge you to pay attention to our Wednesday Work Sessions. A lot of work gets done during these sessions. Ideas are floated, and ideas are shot down. People who strongly disagree talk things out and reach compromises. Department Heads offer up suggestions and get policy direction. Most Supervisors use this time to really work through the issues facing our county. If you want to know what is happening, those meetings are a good place to look.
Having an elected body where most people typically vote the same way COULD be a red flag. When you see it happening, I urge you to dig deeper. If you dig deeper into the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, I think you will find mostly positive results. I believe you will find most of the members of the Board reaching compromises for the benefit of the people of this county.
*DID YOU KNOW? Drive through voting is available every weekday from 8-5. It will also be available Saturday October 24, Sunday the 25th, Saturday the 31st, and Sunday, November 1.
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 rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 11:02 AM
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