SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 26, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 8/31/21
In this edition:
*Thanks, Bob!
*Good Luck, Andre!
*Fall Elections
*Not as Easy as It Looks!
*If I Can’t Have It, No One Can!
*Did You Know?
*Thanks, Bob!
I wanted to note a retirement… former State Senator Bob Dvorsky is retiring from the Board of Directors of the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County (HTFJC). Believe it or not, Bob has served on the Board since the organization’s founding in 2004. Over that time, the HTFJC has grown from zero funding to an organization that has provided over $10 million in new affordable housing, plus almost $1 million in repairs to existing affordable housing.
Nonprofits are only as good as their Boards of Directors. The HTFJC has been extremely lucky to have Bob Dvorsky on board all these years! Thanks for your service, Bob!
*Good Luck, Andre!
Author, musician, and all-around great guy Andre Perry has announced that he is stepping down as Executive Director of the Englert Theatre. Thankfully, it sounds as though he is staying in the area. Thanks, Andre, for all your great work, and best of luck with whatever comes next!
*Fall Elections
A couple of years ago, Iowa changed the law to put school and city elections on the same ballot. Iowa City has 3 contested Council seats this year, while the ICCSD has 4. Bottom line - my yard cannot take any more signs!
I know where my votes are going to be cast. For Iowa City Council, I am supporting Bruce Teague and Megan Alter in the At Large race, and Shawn Harmsen in District B.
For the ICCSD Board of Directors, I am supporting JP Claussen, Ruthina Malone, and MaKa Pilcher Hayek.
Please let me know if you want to chat about Iowa City or ICCSD candidates. And remember, every city and school district in Johnson County is holding elections!
*Not as Easy as It Looks!
I just told you how I plan on voting in the fall. But please allow me to add this tidbit: City Council and School Board are very difficult jobs. Many citizens only see the votes they take – was she a yes or a no? In fact, very few of the decisions either body makes are easy. The choice may be yes or no, but there is much agonizing work that goes into every decision.
Thanks to all who serve in these roles, and all who are seeking election to these seats. I appreciate your willingness to serve!
*If I Can’t Have It, No One Can!
I have written a lot lately about what I see as an increase in selfishness in our society. Unfortunately, it seems too ubiquitous to ignore. It is sad to see how many people refuse to allow others good things.
Johnson County had two different situations recently illustrative of this trend. One led to a group of employees getting a raise; the other led to a group of employees getting an increase in vacation. Good for them, right? Nope. Not in today’s hyper-selfish environment.
Instead, I got numerous complaints from other employees. Why was someone else getting something and they were not?
Before you even go there – yes, we are talking about a couple instances of disparate treatment. That is not something we strive for at the County, but it does happen. Obviously, if there are too many instances of disparate treatment, employees get angry. Often this is the type of thing that precedes a push for unionization. Ironically, that is not going to be the case here. First, the vacation increase was welcomed by the union. Second, the raises came because a union was voted out of existence. Trust me, I would LOVE it if these folks would unionize!
I think this irritates me more than other topics because:
1.) We can quantitatively prove that Johnson County employees are well-compensated when compared to their peers;
2.) No one lost anything. Nothing changed for these other employees. It is only that a few of their coworkers gained something.
3.) Many of the people who complained had access to a union but didn’t pay dues, then voted it out of existence;
4.) I have worked very hard my whole career to make sure all Johnson County employees are well-compensated. Right or wrong, I see this as a part of my reputation;
5.) I have taken a beating over the years from people on my right who feel County employees are compensated too well.
It is simply frustrating to hear all the complaints. I suppose Supervisors are supposed to be extra thick-skinned when it comes to this stuff. And I suppose if anyone in County Government should bear the brunt of complaints, it is the Supervisors. But you know what? We are people, too. We have feelings, too. The criticism feels quite unfair.
It is not just happening at Johnson County. There are examples everywhere. I have been amazed by the debate over forgiving some student loans. I had student loans. To be clear, I had a shitload of student loans. Just because I had to struggle to pay mine off, others should struggle? That is just stupid. It’s also bad for our economy.
I was on the Steering Committee for the last ICCSD Bond Referendum. One of the major goals was making certain that all schools had air conditioning. We heard a LOT of people say, “I went to schools without air conditioning; why can’t they?” My response was always, “My school lacked air conditioning. It sucked. Why would I want that for our kids?”
I guess I was just lucky to learn this lesson from my Dad very early in life. You see, my Dad was born in a very small house with no electricity, no running water, and a dirt floor. My Grandparents knew there was something better out there, so they moved to Cedar Rapids and landed good union jobs. The lives of Dad and his sisters got much better.
So growing up, Dad always corrected the guys who claimed “kids today” had it too easy. I often heard him relate his story, and ask, “Why the Hell would I want my kids to have what I had? I want better for them!”
I wish Dad was still around to chew the asses of some of these selfish folks. (He could really light into someone when he was mad! I inherited that same ability, but almost never get to use it. J ) But in the spirit of wanting to do better… why do we have so much selfishness now?
I think some is a result of social and economic insecurity. I think some is a result of America becoming very bifurcated. I think some is a very direct result of Donald Trump. I think some is the blasphemy of “prosperity gospel.” Some is because there is profit to be made turning our neighbors into the “other.” Some is because of our focus on rights alone, rather than rights and responsibilities. There are probably dozens of additional reasons.
I hope we can all do better; I really do. The only way America succeeds is if we recognize that we are all in this together.
*DID YOU KNOW? If you want to view the last school board election, you can do so on the Johnson County website – Auditor’s page. Unfortunately, that is the ONLY previous school election to which you have access, because the Auditor removed all the rest of the historical data. (Yes, it is public record.)
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 @ 7:47 AM
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