SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 14, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/19/21
In this edition:
*RIP Jan Rutledge
*Fall Elections
*Vote Yes!
*Congratulations Marcela!
*Hope After All!
*Did You Know?
*RIP Jan Rutledge
I was saddened to hear about the passing of Jan Rutledge of Iowa City. Jan spent several years running the local office of Iowa Legal Aid, and was a longtime advocate for justice for low income Iowans.
I have known Jan back to the early 90s, and I always found her to be calm, thoughtful, and measured, yet never taking her focus off the idea of justice for all. She was a great person, a great advocate, and she will be missed. RIP, Jan.
*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 Jayne Finch for four-year terms, and MaKa Pilcher Hayek for the two-year term.
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!
*Vote Yes!
Voters in the ICCSD will also have an opportunity to vote to extend the PPEL and SAVE monies for the District. I wholeheartedly urge you to vote YES!
First, voting “yes” does not raise your taxes. It merely maintains the existing funding.
Secondly, I will admit, I am pretty damned invested in this. I served on the Facilities Master Plan Committee that laid out the projects that have been happening for the past few years. Then I served on the committee that ran the bond campaign. I have been working on this a long time. I think we have a great plan. Much of it is already complete. Now we just need you to vote “yes” to keep it rolling!
Please vote YES on the ICCSD SAVE and PPEL extensions!
*Congratulations Marcela!
My friend Marcela Hurtado was inducted into the Iowa Latino Hall of Fame recently. Hurtado was born in Puebla, Mexico, has lived in Iowa for 16 years and currently lives in Iowa City, where she works as a community advocate.
She is a co-founder of the Center for Workers Justice of Eastern Iowa, serving as the elected president of its board. The organization has campaigned to raise the minimum wage in Johnson County and recover stolen wages for workers.
Hurtado also campaigns and performs outreach in Latino communities, leading interfaith gatherings and speaking at government meetings about the struggles and aspirations of Latinos in the area. She also worked to connect residents with essential services during the pandemic.
*Hope After All!
If you read Salvos last week, you know that I am pretty down when it comes to the state of our political discourse. I still am. This was a terrible week. But I did have an interaction that restored my faith a little bit.
I showed up at the Iowa City Farmer’s Market on Saturday, and there was a table with a sign: “Get Rid of the MRAP.” There was a petition on the table requesting that the Sheriff, Supervisors, EMA, Iowa City Council, and ICPD get rid of the MRAP, and not replace it with a Bearcat or similar vehicle. As you may know, this has been a contentious topic. So you may end up as surprised as I was that my interaction was so positive.
The person staffing the table was Martha Hampel, a longtime local activist. Martha and I are both ACLU members, and we have been on the same side in several local discussions. We have also been on the opposite sides of some pretty contentious local issues. ACLU-minded folks tend to either lean Democratic or Libertarian; I am the former, Martha the latter.
I walked up and said hello. Martha said, “I’m glad you are here. I have a few questions.” She proceeded to ask me several really good questions about the MRAP, Bearcats, county processes, etc. We both agreed that it is important to have accurate information out there. I sincerely appreciate her determination to have her facts right.
We spoke for a long time. Martha was super cool. I explained that I really struggled with this issue. On the one hand, I feel a tremendous responsibility toward our Sheriff’s deputies. They are asked to put their lives on the line, and they deserve to be protected. The Board of Supervisors has a solemn obligation to every single County employee, and that includes our deputies.
On the other hand, I have been quite unimpressed by the way the MRAP has been used. The high water “rescue” was a joke. If the idea is to get officers right up to the front door, why is it staged 3 blocks away on Davis Street? It is certainly fair for the public to demand answers to questions over the MRAP’s use.
As you probably know, the Sheriff has said he would get rid of the MRAP if he had a Bearcat. I don’t know anyone who opposes the MRAP that would be satisfied with a Bearcat. There are a few officers who have explained to me that a Bearcat is easier to drive, easier to service, and can get into smaller areas. So there are some minor benefits to deputies. And a Bearcat might look less intimidating to the public. Even then, I have heard other officers say, “Why spend the money? The MRAP works.”
Martha understood my struggles. We share many of the same concerns. For example, when you have a hammer, does everything look like a nail? Why are these vehicles almost exclusively used in neighborhoods of color? The Sheriff stands for election; who will check the Iowa City Chief of Police? If Iowa City is going to use it all the time, why don’t they buy a Bearcat? Instead of writing letters to the Supervisors, why doesn’t the City Council insist that their own Police Chief behave differently?
The important thing to me is that Martha and I had a real conversation. We treated each other with respect. We actually listened to each other. We did not call each other names, make threats, or try to mock each other. We didn’t take a single comment out of context and try to turn it into a Twitter meme.
Martha is worried about police overreach. That does not mean she wants cops to die. I am also worried about police overreach. I am worried about the safety of police officers. That does not mean I want to terrorize black neighborhoods. Martha is also concerned that cops remain safe. We want the same things.
I am sure that some people out there will read this and say, “She is ineffective. She played by your rules.” I do not think that is true at all.
First of all, if you have ever met Martha, you know that she does not give up easily. She is a tireless advocate, who does not let people in power off the hook. Martha definitely asked me challenging questions. She simply did so respectfully. Then she listened to my responses.
If by “played by your rules” you mean she did not lie, exaggerate, or take things out of context? Then yes, perhaps you are correct. But aren’t those “rules” for all of us? If you mean she did not interrupt a public meeting and prevent others from speaking? Then yes, perhaps you are correct. If you mean she did not sue me, then demand to speak with me? Then yes, perhaps you are correct.
For what it is worth, she made me think much more than the dozens of people who have called me names over this topic. If I am going to be convinced, it will be the way Martha approached things, and not by shouting people down at a meeting.
Thank you, Martha, for being a concerned citizen. And thanks for restoring a little bit of my faith in humanity.
*DID YOU KNOW? 88% of Johnson County households have some type of broadband subscription. (Source: US Census Bureau.)
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 @ 7:40 AM
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