SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 15, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/20/21
In this edition:
*UI Presidency
*Increased Property Assessments
*Laws Matter for Governors, Too!
*Endorsements
*Did You Know?
*UI Presidency
I am very excited at the prospect of a new President at the UI. The Presidency is such a big job; I really don’t think many people fully appreciate the breadth and depth of knowledge required to properly fill this role. Not to mention the critical interpersonal skills required in a job where you simply cannot keep everyone happy.
I am rooting for the next UI President, whoever they may be. It is a big job, and it has a tremendous impact upon our whole community. Interviews are occurring as I write this. Stay tuned!
*Increased Property Assessments
I have heard a number of people complaining about the recent reassessment notices that arrived from the Assessor’s Offices. And I get it! My own home was recently reassessed from $192,000 to $201,000. That is a pretty significant increase – about 4.5%.
Thing is? This makes perfect sense. Several homes in our area have sold recently. Most were smaller than ours, and all went for well over $200,000. Sure, it hurts the pocketbook a bit. But being accurate is critical. And these assessments are accurate. The Iowa City Assessor's Office routinely ranks in the top 2-3 in the state in terms of accuracy (as does the Johnson County Assessor's Office).
Fact is, you may complain about the increase, but would you REALLY sell your property for less than the assessed value? If so, there is an appeals process, and you should use it.
Otherwise, just take a deep breath and remember: if you are making a property tax payment, you are by definition one of the wealthiest half of all Johnson County residents. Count your blessings.
*Laws Matter for Governors, Too!
One of the things that really upset a lot of Americans during the Trump years was the way President Trump ignored so many laws. Americans are brought up learning that no one is above the law, including politicians. When politicians flout this, the public feels angry and helpless.
I am feeling angry and helpless right now when it comes to the many ways in which Governor Reynolds is ignoring Iowa laws. Just a few examples:
Reynolds has paid huge ($50,000) bonuses to employees, flouting the law.
Reynolds continues to ignore Freedom of Information requests.
Reynolds illegally transferred emergency funds to balance the budget.
Reynolds illegally spent CARES Act money on a computer system.
Reynolds has illegally handed out several no-bid contracts.
Those are just a few of the laws ignored by our Governor. And frankly, it pisses me off. No one should be above the law!
*Endorsements
The following appeared in Salvos in late November of 2020. With Senatorial and Gubernatorial races coming up in 2022, I thought it might be good to revisit the topic of endorsements.
Let’s start by defining a group of Iowa Democrats that I will call, The “100 Most Important Dems”. You don’t need to like the name of the group, but bear with me. In this group are the 18 Democratic Senators, plus maybe 7-8 recent Senate retirees. It includes the 40+ Democratic House Members, plus maybe 10 recent retires. It includes any Democratic Member of Congress and recent retirees. It includes the State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Attorney General. It includes recent IDP Chairs. Throw in a handful of top Labor leaders, big money donors, and a smattering of others, and you have the “100 Most Important Dems.”
Please understand – I am not judging these folks. Most are really good people. A few are really good friends of mine! They reached this status through hard work. I am not disparaging these people. What I fail to understand, however, is how they seem to almost always arrive at the same conclusion when it comes to endorsements.
Look at the 2020 US Senate primary. Iowa had several really good candidates. How is it that Theresa Greenfield had been endorsed by 95+ of the “100 Most Important Dems” before anyone had ever asked her a question? How does that happen? No knock on Greenfield, but seriously... How does that happen? And how does it happen so early?
It has happened many times before. 99% or more of this group endorsed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, despite the fact that the rest of the state split 50/50. I’m not making that number up – show me three people in the group who backed Bernie. I’ll wait.
An even higher percentage favored Bruce Braley in his 2014 Senate race; he didn’t even need to have a primary!
The same thing happened (though not to as great a degree) in the 2016 Senate primary, where the “100 Most Important Dems” chose Patty Judge over Rob Hogg. Ditto the 2018 Gubernatorial primary and Fred Hubbell.
Why is this? How does it happen? Do they have a big meeting? Is there an email chain? Do Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer decide? Do carrots and/or sticks come from someone in DC? Or, is it just Occam’s Razor, and the best-known person gets some endorsements and it snowballs from there?
Seriously, why is this group able to move forward in lock step when the rest of Iowa’s Democrats do much the opposite? It seems to happen too frequently to be random; perhaps someone can disabuse me of that idea.
Let’s assume for a moment that there are no conspiracies. This is just something that happens. Then the questions become how and why? Is it a good phenomenon, bad, or indifferent? To me, it is indicative of some type of herd mentality or groupthink. I can’t see much good coming from it. Again, I am happy to be proven wrong!
I think getting to the root of this issue would significantly assist Democrats in Iowa in moving forward. There is a disconnect between Party Leaders and the rest of the Party that should really be examined. Open and honest discussion of this phenomenon would be a great start.
*That is what appeared in November of 2020. So, now the ball is in your court. Urge everyone who represents you to allow the 2022 candidates for US Senate and Governor to actually campaign around Iowa. We don’t need another set of elections decided by 20 phone calls.
*DID YOU KNOW? The University of Iowa has had 20 Presidents in its 166-year history. Presidents #7 through #15 have on-campus buildings named after them. (Schaeffer, MacLean, Bowman, Macbride, Jessup, Gilmore, Hancher, Bowen, and Boyd, respectively.)
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 10:52 AM
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