SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 10, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/15/21
In this edition:
*Father’s Day
*Congratulations, Jon!
*Some Quick Punditry
*American Rescue Plan Money
*Employee Residences
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
*Did You Know?
*Father’s Day
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there! I know both Mother’s and Father’s Days can be very difficult for some people, for a variety of reasons. If that is you, you are in my thoughts.
I know I miss my own father every day, even though he has been gone over 20 years.
*Congratulations, Jon!
The results of the June 8 Supervisor Special Election are in, and Jon Green was elected to the seat. The Democrat Green received 66% of the vote. Republican Phil Hemingway got 31%, and Independent Brian Campbell got 3%. Turnout was just under 17%. About 10,000 voted on election day, while 4700 voted early.
Because he has been elected to fill an unexpired term, Green can begin serving as soon as he is sworn in. That can happen immediately after the canvass of votes, which is Tuesday, June 15 at 10:30 AM.
Thanks again to all who competed for the seat, and congratulations Jon!
*Some Quick Punditry
There has not been much time to look at the results of the Supervisor Special Election, but it appears to be very clear that the rural parts of Johnson County are getting more Republican, while the urban areas are becoming more Democratic. This would not be unique to Johnson County, of course; the trend is noticeable across the country.
In addition, Democrats are voting early, while Republicans are waiting until election day. I think both trends are a direct response to former President Trump.
I was unsure what impact Independent candidate Brian Campbell would have on the race. Campbell had been very clear about having previously been an active Democrat, so there is reason to believe he hurt Green a bit. On the other hand, Hemingway has always had a following of people who do not fit neatly in either party. Either way, at 3.2% he was mostly a non-factor.
Special Elections generally favor the GOP, simply because their base voters are more regular voters. In addition, Phil Hemingway is a pretty strong GOP candidate for Johnson County. He has high name ID, he is recognizable, he held elected office, and he retains a bit of crossover support. So my guess is Phil is just about the best the GOP can do. On the other side, the Democratic electorate was fairly evenly split at convention among Jon Green and two other candidates. Plus the aforementioned Mr. Campbell running. So this result is probably not exciting if you are a member of the local GOP.
One interesting note: Coralville now has 12,405 registered voters, while North Liberty has 12,101. The race is on!
You can see precinct by precinct results yourself at the Auditor’s page on the County website: https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/auditor/returns/2021CountySupervisorResults.pdf.
*American Rescue Plan Money
You recall the battle over the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Every Democrat voted for it, and every Republican voted against it. One of the pieces Republicans disliked was the money that is flowing to local governments.
Johnson County is supposed to receive approximately $29 million under this plan. Iowa City, Coralville, and every other municipality will also be receiving money. We received half the money just recently, and half in about a year.
The County has formed an ad-hoc committee to manage the ARP planning and oversight. (I am not on the committee.) They have done a great job so far of digesting the federal rules associated with the ARP, creating some reporting mechanisms, and preparing to track the money. Just recently they requested that County Elected Officials and Department Heads make the case for their departments using some of the funds.
Next on the docket will be A) some type of public input sessions, and B) meeting with cities to ensure coordination of efforts. We also have a website set up that allows you to weigh in! Just visit the County website at: https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/dept_supervisors.aspx?id=29480.
I am really looking forward to this process! This is an amount of money that can really make a difference in people’s lives. We need to do this thoughtfully and we need to get it right.
*Employee Residences
This info is a couple years old, so it is undoubtedly out of date. Still, I find it quite interesting.
I recently received some interesting data as to where the 541 full time County employees live.
186 live in Iowa City. No surprise there. I WAS a bit surprised to see that North Liberty was second with 74 employees, far ahead of third place Coralville’s 48. Solon is right behind Coralville, with 41 County employees.
Oxford is home to 24 County employees. Cedar Rapids checks in as the first non-Johnson County place of residence, with 23 employees. Tiffin follows close behind at 21.
Riverside has 17, Kalona 13, Lone Tree 12, and West Branch 10. Interesting stuff, huh?
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
The Johnson County Democratic Party is holding our Annual Hall of Fame Awards on Friday, July 9 at 7pm at Brown Deer in Coralville. 2021 marks the 11th consecutive 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 2021 are: David and Marion Coleman, Dave Leshtz, and the late Mel Stahmer. 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)
We hope that this will be an in-person event, and we are planning for there to be both in-person and Zoom options for attendance. Obviously, we will continue to monitor the COVID virus as we continue to plan the event.
*DID YOU KNOW? The House of Representatives voted 218–212 to approve its version of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). All but two Democrats voted for the bill and all Republicans voted against the bill. A modified version passed the Senate on March 6 by a vote of 50–49; with all Republicans voting against the bill.
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.
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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 @ 9:50 AM
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