SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

June 28, 2023

Sullivan’s Salvos 7/4/23

In this edition:

*Happy Independence Day!

*News on the Iowa Democratic Party Front

*How Did We Get Here?

*Did You Know?

*Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday to the USA! 247 years old! I hope you and yours enjoy a great Independence Day!

Looking for ways to celebrate? The Jazz Festival is in downtown Iowa City, Fourth Fest in Coralville, and the 4^th has parades in Coralville, Sharon Center, Oxford, and Hills.

*News on the Iowa Democratic Party Front

Salvos readers will recall that I have recently expressed some trepidation with things happening in Iowa Democratic politics. I have been:

1.) Frustrated by what Iowa Senate Democrats did to Senator Zach Wahls; and

2.) Concerned by the fact that this leaves Johnson County unrepresented on the Iowa Democratic Party Steering Committee.

I am very pleased to be able to tell you that IDP Chair Rita Hart reached out, and I think my concerns are well-addressed. As well-addressed as they can be, anyway. She is very open to Johnson County contributions at Steering Committee meetings, and she plans to reach out frequently beyond that.

Thanks for doing something that needed to be done! I really appreciate Rita Hart! I am proud that I got to vote for her twice! The Iowa Democratic Party has a good leader there. I’m going to send some money to the IDP because of her.

*How Did We Get Here?

The following article ran in Salvos almost exactly one year ago. I was reminded that I had written it when I heard a couple people saying, “No one like that could ever get elected in Johnson County.” Actually, people “like that” ran Johnson County and Iowa City until just a few years ago. Below are my thoughts on what changed.

I have had a couple of conversations recently that both illustrate the distance Johnson County has come politically over the past 25 years. Sometimes it takes a conversation or two like this to recognize just how much change has occurred.

The first conversation: At a recent retirement party for State Senator Joe Bolkcom, I joked with our friend Rusty Martin. You see, Rusty was always at the center of our local progressive political efforts in the 90s. He deserves a great deal of credit for laying the groundwork for the successes we now enjoy. Despite all his great effort, it was all we could do to get one or two progressives elected. Kubby to IC Council in ‘89. Bolkcom to the Board of Supervisors in ‘92. Kim Painter as Recorder in ‘98. Nick Johnson and Matt Goodlaxson to the ICCSD Board in ‘98. We had some wins, but we usually lost.

I teased Rusty a little bit, and said, “You left, and the progressives took over.” I was joking, but it is true!

In another recent conversation, I was at the opening of the new 501 Southgate building, a “housing first” facility operated by Shelter House. While there I began speaking with Dottie Pearson, a tremendous advocate for social justice in our community. Back when Shelter House was on Linn Street, Dottie and I both did “Shelter Overflow.” You see, the shelter was so crowded, that we had to drive people around to stay at various churches.

Basically, the impetus for the current Shelter House came from people of faith haranguing (and frankly shaming) elected officials into supporting the effort to build a new shelter. Even then, it took four lawsuits and a lot of heartache to get a new shelter.

Now? Shelter House has broad based community support. Rather than being opponents, people line up to help. Dottie and I both agreed - it has changed dramatically!

So how did we get here? What happened? What changed?

There is a part of me that doesn’t even want to put this in print, for fear that it might give something away. But I truly believe that there is a more important reason to write it down – I fear that most people do not KNOW how we got here. It is critical that we understand our history. And I’m fairly certain most of us don’t.

These do not appear in any particular order. Like so many of the arguments we have, these are not, “either or” but “yes, and.” So, without further delay – how we got here!

Progressives got better (1): We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the people I named before, among others. Karen Kubby was the gold standard. She was never outworked. She knew the budget better than anyone else. She did the blocking and tackling of city government better than the conservatives. Same thing with Joe Bolkcom. Always smarter, always worked harder. He brought “crazy liberal ideas” to the Board. But the ideas worked. The public liked it. Kim Painter? She may have been viewed as a political “radical,” but she ran the most efficient, effective office in the County. Nick and Matt? We can do more to serve our neediest kids without hurting the rest. In fact, it helps everyone! We had some truly GREAT people doing some truly GREAT work! (Usually in terrible circumstances. All these people were treated very poorly by other electeds, staff, and some members of the public.) These folks showed us the way. We need to know our history!

Progressives got better (2): There was a point where we nominated people just because they were liberal. That has never been good enough, and really still isn’t. It’s no good to be liberal if you are neither honest nor hard working. Dems began to do a better job of recruiting candidates. Many served on Boards and Commissions. People learned how to be elected officials before taking the leap into electoral politics.

Republicans got worse: As national Republican politics got more extreme, it became almost impossible to elect a Republican countywide. So your most conservative candidates were actually more conservative Democrats. This made it easier to move some issues forward at a local level.

Dems got involved in nonpartisan races: Do not underestimate this! I recall vividly my frustration with Minnette Doderer when it came to nonpartisan races. Despite being the most liberal member of the whole Iowa Legislature, Minnette would regularly support conservatives for the Iowa City Council. You see, her husband Fred had served as the Mayor of Iowa City in the 60s, and Minnette just decided that she would never criticize or challenge any City folks, no matter how conservative they were. Had someone of her stature endorsed a progressive for Council, they would have won. But that never happened. Unfortunately, we elected a lot of City Councilors who were nominally Democrats, then acted like right wingers while in office. Finally, after years of effort from people like Bolkcom, Dave Leshtz, and others, Democrats began voting like Democrats when it came to the City Council.

Unions got involved: I have been a delegate to the Iowa City Federation of Labor for a long time. In the earlier years, we were not organized. We woke up 60 days before the election, dusted off an antiquated questionnaire, and maybe got endorsements done a week before the election – far too late to matter. Then we went to sleep again. Now endorsements come out early, and come with money and manpower. More importantly, there is year-round accountability for elected officials. Organized labor is a serious player in local elections, and that has changed things for the better.

Chamber changed: A lot of people do not remember this, but the Chamber of Commerce used to completely run Iowa City. They had a great farm system, and you could see the next council person coming through the ranks. But over time, the Chamber changed. Chamber members began to care about more than low taxes; they were no longer opposed to healthcare, diversity, and other issues. One key was the post-Bob Ray GOP began to regularly attack the UI. Many local businesspeople understood that their businesses depended upon a strong UI. Over time, the Chamber went from an enemy of Democrats to an ally.

Regina influence waned: In addition to the Chamber, the Regina Catholic Education system had a strong pipeline of elected officials. While these Catholics were all Democrats, most (but not all) were on the more conservative end of the spectrum. But over the years, the big Regina families have spread out, and the huge in-migration has diluted their power.

Lead and they will follow: This is my own big, personal “I told you so” to Tom Markus. Instead of starting wars with Coralville, North Liberty, and the County, just do the right thing in Iowa City. Pretty soon, the people who live in those other areas will demand the same thing from their elected officials. It happened exactly as I told Markus it would. Do the right thing when and where you can, and don’t worry about others.

Demographics changed (1): In just the past ten years, the number of black people in Iowa City doubled, from 4,000 to 8,000. The number of people identifying as two or more races tripled, from 1,700 to 5,000. And that is *ONLY* Iowa City! You will see similar numbers in Coralville and North Liberty. According to the census, there are 12,000 to 13,000 black residents of Johnson County. There are about 11,000 Asian residents. There are about 10,000 Latinx residents. The county as a whole is about 25% minority.

You know how many farm families there are? 1,261. In 1982, that number was 1,600. Take that times 3 people per household, which might be generous, and you have a little under 3,800 people. Rural interests used to be able to control County elections. They simply do not have the electoral numbers to do so today.

Demographics changed (2): In 1984, Mondale got 58% of the vote in Johnson County. In ’96, Bill Clinton got 62%. In ’08, Obama got 70%. In ’16, Hillary Clinton got 66%. In ’20, Biden got 71%.

As you can see, Johnson County is voting more Democratic. Some of that trickles down to local races. Plus, less and less voters are splitting tickets. They tend to vote a single party more now than 25 years ago.

Demographics changed (3): Americans have been moving to more and more homogeneous communities. People are self-sorting into like-minded areas. If you grow up LGBTQ+ in rural Iowa, you are probably moving to the city. More liberal-minded young people that grew up in smaller towns migrate to Johnson County. More highly educated people migrate to Iowa City.

The places they leave behind then become less LGBTQ+ friendly, less liberal, and less educated. We grow more Democratic, they grow more Republican. And the cycle continues.

Momentum: We have done some pretty good things. Since I have been on the Board, we have made amazing strides in terms of civil rights, economic justice, social justice, environmental justice, and more. County government is fair and effective. And that is just one level of government. Do good things, and people will reward you with the opportunity to do even more good things. It is a virtuous cycle!

Hard Work: A lot of us worked very hard. Every year. For many years. Nothing is given to you. You need to earn it over and over again!

So that, in my opinion, is how we got here. Thoughts?

*DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County grew from 111,000 population in 2000 to 155,000 in 2020. That is a 40% increase.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

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---Rod

June 21, 2023

I was very sorry to hear of the passing of my friend John Schneider of Iowa City.

John had a 40-year career as an executive at NCS/Pearson. John was active in the Iowa City community, serving on several nonprofit boards including Community Foundation of Johnson County, Iowa City Community School District Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Elder Services, and Goodwill of the Heartland. He was also a member of Noon Rotary of Iowa City.

John and I met through working together in the early days of the Community Foundation. Because we would sit around and talk through philosophies on things like need, charity, giving, wealth, etc. I feel John and I got to know each other in a very meaningful way. And based on what I learned, I can assure you he was a good man. RIP, my friend.

This ran just a few weeks ago in the May 16 edition of Salvos. But I think it is important enough to revisit.

I am an extrovert. I enjoy talking to people. I can go to a party where I do not know anyone and have a marvelous time. Obviously, some people are introverts, and feel exactly the opposite. But in both cases, Americans are much lonelier than in the past. What is going on?

Like SO many of our problems, this has multiple pieces. The pandemic obviously made things worse. But statistics show the loneliness epidemic started before that. Cell phones? Undoubtedly part of the problem. Social media? Yep. Lack of time? Yes. This only scratches the surface.

So what can we do about it? Experts do offer several tips. These are from Scientific American:

1.) Be the friend you’d like to have. Say yes to invitations, be reliable, respond to texts, e-mails and voicemail messages in a timely way. Consider volunteering your time for worthy causes, which will position you to help others who may also struggle with loneliness. Provide instrumental and emotional support and give your friends your full attention. Celebrate their accomplishments. Remember their birthdays and other important events. Listen to their troubles and provide a shoulder to cry on, when needed.

2.) Make yourself vulnerable and be the first to show trust. Share something personal about yourself and be courageous enough to extend the first invitation to an event or social outing (know that you might get turned down, just like when pursuing a romantic relationship).

3.) Be compassionate with yourself. Expect to make a few mistakes when trying to establish new friendships. No matter how hard you try, you’ll eventually say or do the wrong thing. Keeping that in mind can help you to stop being your own worst critic. Try to be as understanding of your own missteps as you are of others’ minor blunders. If appropriate, apologize. Then, move on. A little self-compassion will make the whole process easier, especially when a budding friendship fizzles (you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay).

Please allow me to just add a couple things. If you are reading this, I’d be happy to chat with you. On the phone or in person. We can have coffee, play catch, sit on my porch, whatever. Reach out. I am game.

Look for me to be reaching out to you as well. I am going to fight this loneliness epidemic. I will not go quietly into this good night!

Finally, please seek out help if you need it. All you need to do is pick up any phone and dial 988. Professionals will pick up, ready and willing to help. There is help out there!

On a recent Friday afternoon, a box of papers and books showed up on my desk. I inspected the attached note, and discovered that it was from former Johnson County Supervisor Jonathon Jordahl. He was back in Johnson County for the first time in a long time, and had cleaned out a storage unit. I’m really sorry that I missed him!

I always liked former Supervisor Jordahl. He is a tremendously intelligent man, who took public input and feedback very seriously. Jonathon was also an environmentalist, and ran primarily on issues of water quality and transparency.

Jordahl was elected in 1996, and in concert with fellow Supervisors Joe Bolkcom and Sally Stutsman, made several important changes in the way County government functions. Jordahl served just one term, choosing not to run again in 2000. But that single term was significant!

Jonathon ended up teaching in South Korea for several years before retiring to Portugal. We would occasionally communicate through Facebook Messenger, so I have been able to keep him up to date on a few things.

So what was in the box? I still have to wade through it all, but some pretty cool stuff! There is a signed copy of a book by Randall Arendt, the father of “conservation design.” Jordahl had travelled to see Arendt in the early ‘90s, and helped Johnson County to be the first county in Iowa to use principles of conservation design in land use planning. I look forward to seeing what other treasures are in the box!

When you take a new job, there is a tendency to identify an issue and think, “Why didn’t my predecessors address that? They must not have cared.” That is why it is important to know our history. Knowing Jonathon, he tried!

Thanks, Jonathon Jordahl, for your public service, and for continuing to think about the people of Johnson County.

In another “homecoming” type of moment, we were visited by former Board secretary Jo Hogarty. Jo retired in 2013 after a long career with Johnson County, and the position she held has really changed over that time.

Jo started in the Courthouse, before there was a County Administration Building. Back then, there were many more phone calls and visitors. Not only has the volume of contact with the public gone down, it has almost entirely migrated online. Jo used to tell me stories of taking dictation from Dick Myers – that sounds so long ago!

I want to talk to any of you Johnson County Democrats out there who donate money to the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP), Iowa Senate, or any other non-Johnson County political entity.

Things have changed. A while ago, the Iowa Democratic Party made the decision that Johnson County was going to have to be on its own. I actually agree with this decision. Johnson County is one of five or so counties (Polk, Linn, Blackhawk, Story, and us) that can probably be entrusted to handle their own fundraising, staffing, and GOTV. We can suck it up and do it. That leaves resources for the micropolitan places that up until recently, made up a big piece of the Democratic Party base in Iowa. We are talking Mason City, Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Muscatine, Clinton, Burlington, Lee County, etc. So the plan is a good one. The problem has been what comes next.

With the ouster of Senate Leader Zach Wahls, Johnson County is now unrepresented on the IDP Steering Committee. The committee has 9 members – none from Johnson County, the most Democratic County in Iowa. Frankly, I see the IDP treating Johnson County the way a coal company treats West Virginia – extractive. We are going to take their money and their votes, but the people left behind get nothing. I am not going to stand back and let that happen to the place I love.

So what to do? I say we stop the flow of all money from Johnson County to Des Moines until we are represented on the Steering Committee. Stop your automatic withdrawls. Stop writing checks. Stop attending fundraisers. We need to make a stand.

Besides, the JC Dems are going to need every dollar you have. Remember, all the money you send to Des Moines? This year, ZERO of it comes back. ZERO. So if we do not give locally, local results will suffer significantly.

The IDP can fix this. Just add someone from Johnson County to the Steering Committee.

The Iowa Senate? I am not giving ANYTHING to anyone in the Iowa Senate except Zach Wahls. And I’m giving him more than ever. We need to teach the rest of the Democrats in the Iowa Senate who is boss. Most of the Democrats in the Iowa Senate and much of their staff need to go. They CLEARLY do not give a shit about Johnson County. They will take Zach’s money, and that’s it. Well, I refuse to give them a single dollar. Our money is our power. It needs to stay locally or go to Zach. Those are the only acceptable choices.

Iowa House? With all due respect to our wonderful House delegation, I think we need to send a signal. No money until we are taken seriously. House members need to push to get Johnson County represented on the committee.

*DID YOU KNOW? When Jordahl won election in 1996, he had the second-highest vote total behind incumbent Joe Bolkcom. Jordahl outpolled two incumbent Supervisors – Charlie Duffy and Don Sehr. There were three seats available, so Bolkcom, Jordahl, and Duffy formed the next Board with Sally Stutsman and Steve Lacina. 1996 is a unique election - it is very difficult to beat one incumbent, let alone two!