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SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 31, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 2/1/24 In this edition: *Black History Month *Groundhog Day *Wallace Shawn *Healing Prairie Farm *Trans Right in Iowa *Prosecutorial Independence *Did You Know? *Black History Month February is Black History Month. I often wish that there was no need for a Black History Month – instead, black history would be a robust part of the history that is already taught in our schools. The fact is, we all need a reminder of the amazing history of African Americans. I am planning on doing some reading on Little Rock Central and Brown versus the Board of Education. I may try to sneak in a visit to my daughter in Memphis. What will you be doing? *Groundhog Day Happy Groundhog Day! Hey, we need to celebrate anything we can, right? By the way – the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” really is a classic, isn’t it? OK. Enough small talk. I wish you six less weeks of winter! *Wallace Shawn Speaking of classic comedies… one of my favorites is the 1987 classic “The Princess Bride.” Only onscreen for ten minutes in his role as Vizzini, actor Wallace Shawn is simply unforgettable. Rewatch the movie sometime. And see if you can stop yourself from saying, “Inconceivable!” for the next several weeks! *Healing Prairie Farm Last Saturday I went to an open house at Healing Prairie Farm just southeast of Iowa City. It is a beautiful setting, and I am excited about all the good things that can happen there. Healing Prairie Farm will be a basic youth shelter, and also provide child crisis observation services. First, some background… for decades, Iowa City was home to a youth shelter. It was run first by Youth Homes, and after a merger, by Four Oaks. Youth shelters are an important piece of the continuum of care. There is currently some very limited counseling for kids who need it. There is juvenile court for kids who get in trouble with the law, and juvenile detention for kids who get in very serious trouble with the law. But what about the children who really need to get away from home, but have not committed a crime? There are scores of kids in Johnson County who just need a place to go for a little while. The youth shelter used to fill this need. Unfortunately, Four Oaks was no longer able to make the youth shelter work financially, and it closed in July. There is also a void when it comes to children’s mental health services. Ask any parent who has had to deal with a child’s brain health issues – there is very little out there. The State of Iowa has been talking about children’s mental health for over 30 years, but has never really done anything. Recently, the East Central Mental Health Region (ECR) (of which Johnson County is a part) made some money available for children’s mental health. As a member of the ECR Board, I was extremely proud to make this funding available. So kids with shelter and/or mental health needs in Johnson County were going to be even more desperate. CommUnity Crisis Services and United Action for Youth decided to step into this void. They decided to open a facility to serve both general shelter and crisis observation mental health needs for local youth. And as luck would have it, they were able to purchase the former Kinderfarm property just southeast of Iowa City. Kinderfarm was a longtime area daycare that featured a pond and a bunch of farm animals. The animals even came with the property as part of the deal! They got $1 million from the ECR for the purchase, which was great. But refurbishing the old house, adding sprinklers, etc. was more than anticipated. If they wanted to get it done, they would need another million. The ECR said no, it was not in the budget. So Johnson County stepped forward with the $1 million, and asked the ECR to consider paying us back if there is money left at the end of the year. I hope Johnson County gets the $1 million back. But even if we do not, Healing Prairie Farm is going to be worth the investment. This is badly needed. Now the plans are to begin taking referrals in March! Thanks to CommUnity and UAY for their vision and leadership! *Trans Right in Iowa Representative Jeff Shipley of Fairfield has introduced HF2082, a bill that would make Iowa the first state to repeal legal protections for transgender people. HF2082 would remove gender identity as a protected class, and add a diagnosis for gender dysphoria to the civil rights code. In other words, his bill classifies being trans as a mental illness. This means Iowa would allow discrimination when it comes to housing, employment, education, credit, public accommodations, and more. It is hateful. I wish I could say this bill was likely to fail, but I fear it will go the other way. What can we do? Talk to members of the State House and State Senate. And not just your reps; talk to other members of the body. (I understand that most will not take your calls.) Meanwhile, Representative Shipley had better hope there is no God, because if we are all judged in the end, he’s not going to fare well. UPDATE: As I go to print, a subcommittee voted this down 3-0. That does not mean it is dead, but it is certainly good news. There are still MANY battles ahead this year from our trans siblings, so please remain vigilant. *Prosecutorial Independence If you are like me, you get really upset when Donald Trump talks about siccing the Justice Department on his political rivals. It chills me to the bone. That is not how America is supposed to work. We have a separation of powers. If you share this opinion, then you should be concerned about things in Johnson County. We have a situation where the Board of Supervisors is walking up to that line with the County Attorney. Look, I don’t agree with everything that happens in the County Attorney’s Office. I have had the opportunity to work with three different County Attorneys, and though I have great respect for all three, we have never agreed on everything. That is life. I wish the County Attorney had not charged the protesters. But it is not my job to tell her how to do hers. I like, respect, and trust her. You may share my opinion, you may not. It is not my place to start ordering the County Attorney how to do her job. “Prosecute this person,” or “Don’t prosecute that person.” Imagine the ramifications! “Hey Rachel – Phil Hemmingway might run for Supervisor again. Why don’t you charge him with something?” That is a direct affront to the rule of law! It is a very real feeling to want the County Attorney to prosecute the people you don’t like and to leave alone the people you do. We all feel this way. Yes, prosecute the Nazis or Klan if they do something illegal. But don’t prosecute antiwar activists for the same thing; they are our friends. In reality, society cannot operate that way. We need to follow the rule of law. Trying to influence who gets prosecuted when you have a position of power creates even more concerns. Supervisors should have ZERO role in who gets prosecuted or not. And they should not try to pressure the County Attorney. There will be other County Attorneys, and other Supervisors. Someday YOU might be the target. All the more reason to fight for a separation of powers. One more thing. While no form of government is perfect, County government gives you the opportunity to elect your local prosecutor every 4 years. I love that! So if you dislike the County Attorney, or feel she has not performed well? Find a candidate and run that person against her. She is up in two short years. Don’t like me? I’m up this year! You have a lot of power to make change locally. Supervisors are political animals. They can affect a lot of change in the County in which they live; maybe even beyond. But Supervisors should stay out of prosecutorial decisions. *DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County is home to approximately 14,000 black residents. (Source: US Census Bureau.) Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website- www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov. "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. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you! ---Rod
January 24, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/25/24 In this edition: *Much Gratitude… *Summer EBT for Kids, Part I *Summer EBT for Kids, Part II *Evil and Medicaid? *Did You Know? *Much Gratitude… I got a shock on the 18th when I was presented with a Bravo award by the Better Together 2030 group. The award was for contributions to our natural environment, and that makes me very proud! It is a bit ironic; I always thought if my public service was ever going to be remembered in any way, it would be for human services. That is the field I worked in prior to becoming a County Supervisor, and the area where I think I affected the most change in Johnson County. I figured that human services would be the area in which folks might say, “He made a difference.” So winning an award for the environment was a real surprise. I have always tried to be as “green” as possible, and I am really proud of the many environmental efforts we have undertaken. I’m pleased with my record. But I’m not sure I deserve this award. If I deserve it, then certainly our Planning, Development, and Sustainability Department deserves a lot of credit. Josh Busard, Nate Mueller, Becky Soglin, Kasey Hutchinson, and many others in that department do the real work. That also includes former employees like RJ Moore and Kate Giannini. If I deserve it, then certainly our Conservation Department deserves a lot of credit. Larry Gullett, Brad Friedhof, Wade Schultz, Dave Wehde, and too many others to name in that department do the real work. That also includes former employees like Harry Graves, Larry Lovetinsky, and Gary Pidgeon. If I deserve it, then certainly all our Offices and Departments deserve it, as everyone in Johnson County government takes environmental stewardship very seriously. If I deserve it, then certainly other Supervisors deserve it. Because if there is one thing I have learned in my years as a County Supervisor, it is learn to count to three. It doesn’t matter if you are correct. It doesn’t matter how passionate you are. It doesn’t matter how dire the consequences. You cannot get ANYTHING done unless you have three votes. So here is to all those many Supervisors who provided those votes. I would not have won this award without you. And finally, if I deserve it, then certainly my Granny deserves it. She is the one who took us to the woods, let us play in the creek, and encouraged the collection of frogs, turtles, and the like. She taught me about nature, and though she has been gone for a long time now, I hope this award makes her happy. A sincere thanks to the Better Together 2030 group for this award. I am truly honored. And getting it from Brad Friedhof and Josh Schamberger made it even sweeter! Thanks again! *Summer EBT for Kids, Part I Hungry children in Iowa were dealt a blow recently when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declined the federal funding that would have given every poor kid in Iowa a $120 EBT card each month this summer. The cost to Iowa was a mere $2.2 million state match. So hungry Iowa children are on their own this summer. By way of comparison, Connecticut is close in population to Iowa, with about 3.6 million residents. 273,000 Connecticut children will benefit from the program this summer. Nevada, which has almost exactly the same population as Iowa (3.2 million), will serve 352,000 children this summer. (The numbers vary because Connecticut is a very wealthy state, while Nevada is average. Nevada is 25th in poverty rate, Iowa 33rd, and Connecticut 46.) Your federal tax dollars will help feed kids in Connecticut and Nevada, but not here in Iowa. Iowa could serve 250,000 children this summer if Kim Reynolds simply said yes. But while poor kids in Connecticut and Nevada eat healthy meals this summer, poor Iowa kids have to hope there is something at the food bank. It is shameful. All Reynolds has to do is snap her fingers, and these kids eat. But she refuses. Kim Reynolds is the person who decided Iowa should spend $250+ million each year on vouchers for private school tuition. That is her idea of “helping kids.” But she refuses to spend the $2 million in state match required to feed our poorest kids. $250+ million for the rich kids, and zero for the poor kids. We have almost $2 billion dollars (most of that federal money) that she plans to give away to the richest Iowans through tax cuts. She could use just $2.2 million of that $2 billion to feed our poorest children. That is one thousandth of one percent! It is the equivalent of you having a twenty-dollar bill and claiming you cannot afford two cents! This decision does not make sense on any level. It does not make financial sense, and it does not make humanitarian sense. It is a truly shameful decision. *Summer EBT for Kids, Part II We can agree that Governor Reynolds’ decision is sickening. But we are likely stuck with it. So, now that I have expressed my discontent, what can we do? Upon learning that the Governor turned down the federal money, Johnson County Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby investigated whether a county could apply to be the local partner. Unfortunately, the USDA does not allow this. (Polk County has gone a step further, and requested that this federal rule be changed.) So access to this federal money is a no go. A Facebook friend was wondering what it would cost to do a similar program locally. My quick math was this: $120 EBT cards x 3 months = $360 per kid, per summer. $360 x 6000 low-income Johnson County children = $2,160,000. Add in 10% for admin costs, and you are looking at about $2.4 million. That is a lot of money. In comparison, Johnson County spends less than $2 million annually on our General Assistance (aid to the poor) program. So an additional $2 million in the budget just is not happening. We simply do not have the resources. Yes, we could talk about doing something on a more scaled back level, but it would probably be easier and less costly to simply increase our giving to local food banks. But we are open to suggestions. Please let me know if you have other ideas. *Evil and Medicaid? I believe Governor Reynolds’ actions rise to the level of evil. That is a strong statement, but I feel it is true. I considered this previously when Reynolds chose to privatize Medicaid, which is still a disaster. The following ran in Salvos in December of 2017: Evil. What does it really mean? The dictionary definition is, “Profoundly immoral and malevolent.” There are three parts there: Profound: It has to be intense. This cannot be something small. It has to have serious consequences. Immoral: Not conforming to standards of decency. This has to be something no reasonable, decent person would do. Malevolent: Desiring to do evil to others. This means you have to intend to do evil. You need to know that what you are doing is wrong. I happen to believe that “profoundly immoral and malevolent” is a very fitting description of Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization scheme. It touches all the bases! Is it profound? Medicaid serves the most vulnerable members of our society. First, you must be incredibly poor. Then you need to fit a second category of need. For example, most Medicaid recipients are children. The next biggest group is people living in nursing homes. The third largest group is people with significant disabilities. These are people whose health can easily be negatively affected. I would argue that the impact has been profound. In addition to targeting the most vulnerable Iowans, Medicaid serves 1 in 6 Iowans. So the scale is profound, too. It is a very big deal! Is it immoral? Who amongst us would take medicine from a child? Who amongst us would throw a senior citizen out of a nursing home? Who amongst us would throw a person with disabilities out of her group home? Aren’t those acts immoral? This is EXACTLY what the privatization of Medicaid has done! So, it follows that the privatization of Medicaid has been immoral. Is it malevolent? This is the toughest piece. That it is profoundly immoral is not in question. Now we must determine if a person KNOWS it is profoundly immoral. There are two options here in the case of Governor Reynolds. If she understands that her decisions have been profoundly immoral, she has committed a truly evil act. If she does not understand, then she is too ignorant to serve as Governor. It is really quite simple. Medicaid privatization was an evil act. Evil is in our midst. There is no point calling it anything else. Disagree? Please explain your reasoning. I would like to be convinced there is more to this; I really would. So I ask you – faced with this evil, what are we going to do? *DID YOU KNOW? Somewhere around 5000 Johnson County children live below the poverty line. (Source: US Census Bureau.) Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website- www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov. "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. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you! ---Rod
January 17, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/18/24 In this edition: *Snow! *A Plea… *Running for Reelection *More on Running *Why Proclamations? *Did You Know? *Snow! The snow has been the story for the last couple of weeks in Johnson County, with accumulations not seen in a decade. With that in mind, I want to give a shout out to the many County employees who work to keep us safe during bad weather. I want to start with the offices and departments that DO NOT CLOSE! That’s right – much of County Government operates 24/7/365. The Sheriff’s Office, Ambulance Service, Medical Examiner’s Department, and Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) all operate on this daunting schedule. They are there when you need them – whenever you need them! Thanks to the folks who literally keep us safe all the time! Next a shout out to Secondary Roads, the folks who plow the snow. I was on a call one afternoon, and our Roads Maintenance Superintendent was preparing to get his crew home. It was about 4pm, and they had been working for 12 hours. EMA noted concerns about people coming home from work. Without blinking, the Roads Maintenance Superintendent made the call, and kept the crew working until 6:30pm. Then they went back to work the next morning at 4am! Amazing! Thank you, Roads Department! I was impressed by the job our Facilities Department did moving snow on the County campus. If you came to a county building to do business, you parked, walked in, walked out, and drove away with no problems. That is because Facilities was out there busting their butts starting at 5am! Thank you, Facilities! Thanks to our Emergency Management professionals, who really run the show during emergencies. The thousands of hours they spend in preparation for these events allow us to get through them in a calm, thoughtful, and orderly fashion. We would have a mess without their leadership. Thanks EMA! Thanks to the Communications team, who stood ready at all hours to take the info from our emergency responders and communicate it with the public. Finally, a big shout out to you! To every Johnson County resident who shoveled a neighbor’s walk, helped to push a car out, drove a friend to work, covered for a coworker, or simply followed the advice to stay home. We cannot get through events like this without a community that supports each other. Thank you all! *A Plea… The biggest takeaway from the recent storms? PLEASE listen when public officials ask you to stay home. Emergency services had HUNDREDS of rescues on 1/12 and 1/13. HUNDREDS. Many of these were folks getting to and leaving Carver Hawkeye Arena. These rescues are for the people in jeopardy. But they also put public servants at risk, and that is not fair. You just have to be smart! When public service agencies advise you to stay home, they mean it! Please take these warnings seriously! *Running for Reelection I recently decided to seek another term as County Supervisor. Here is the announcement I sent out: Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan announced today that he will seek reelection. Sullivan pointed to several accomplishments during his time in office. Since Sullivan joined the Board, he has led Johnson County in: · Raising the minimum wage · Increasing funding for affordable housing · Creating the GuideLink Center · Passing the Conservation Bond Initiative · Passing the Human Rights Ordinance · Creating the Free Tax Help Project · Instituting the Buy Here Initiative · Adding rural warning sirens · Creating the Livable Community for Successful Aging Policy Board · Creating the Local Foods Policy Council · Adopting the Community ID · Leading the transition to regional mental health care. He saved the Sutliff Bridge, Preserved the Historic Poor Farm, and initiated the renaming of Johnson County after Lulu Merle Johnson. Sullivan grew up on a Heritage farm just east of Sutliff. He lives in Iowa City with his wife, Melissa Fath, who does cancer research at the UI. They have 3 adult children, one granddaughter, and have served as Foster Parents for an additional 50+ children. Sullivan has been involved with numerous organizations, including AFT Local 716; Iowa City Federation of Labor; Affordable Homes Coalition; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; and Center for Worker Justice. “It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving as a Johnson County Supervisor,” Sullivan said. “We have accomplished some very good things, but we can do much more. I want to continue to push Johnson County to be the best it can be.” Sullivan says his goals for Johnson County include addressing affordable housing, our mental health crisis, and climate change. Sullivan can be contacted at 319-354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. He has a website at: rodsullivanforsupervisor.com. *More on Running Running for office can be daunting for both candidates and the public. Keeping that in mind, I promise to keep Salvos focused on things other than my campaign. That said, campaigns cost money to operate. If you are interested, you can visit my website at rodsullivanforsupervisor.com and donate online, or you can send a check to: Sullivan for Supervisor, 514 N. Linn Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52245. I appreciate your support! *Why Proclamations? As many of you know, the Board has had some fireworks over the past 6 months. Each time, the fireworks came following the reading of a proclamation. What is a proclamation? A proclamation is simply a statement. It has no power of law. It does not force anyone to do anything. Given that, you might reasonably ask, “Then why do them?” That is a common sentiment, and it held sway in local politics for several decades. I can picture former Iowa City Mayor Ernie Lehman with an exasperated look on his face, arguing that the “City Council can’t control that, so why waste any time on it?” I understand where Ernie was coming from. I just disagree. I think proclamations serve a very important purpose in local government. Allow me to give a few recent examples: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature have gutted collective bargaining and other labor laws. Iowa workers are under attack from their own state government! President Biden and the US Senate are allies, but the Republicans in the US House prevent all pro-worker legislation. So every year just before Labor Day, Johnson County does a proclamation in support of Labor and Labor Day. It is well-attended, and I believe it is much appreciated by working people. The proclamation cannot do much, but it says, “We see you and we hear you!” That is all we can do, but it means something. The Board also did a proclamation in support of trans folks and their families. Again, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature have passed several bills targeting trans folks. Trans Iowans are under attack from their own state government! So Johnson County passed a proclamation, and perhaps 25-30 local trans folks and their family members attended. It was very moving. I believe it was much appreciated by the trans community. The proclamation cannot do much, but it says, “We see you and we hear you!” That is all we can do, but it means something. This is why I believe proclamations are important, and why I will always fight to continue the tradition. Yes, there can be pitfalls. Often groups want us to make specific statements that we are unwilling to make. Often topics are controversial. Sometimes speakers say incendiary things. Heck, sometimes Board Members say incendiary things. And the proclamations are not getting easier. We were recently asked to do a proclamation expressing outrage over the actions of the Israeli government in Palestine. There HAVE been outrageous actions of the Israeli government in Palestine; we just need to be careful to remember that there have also been outrageous actions by the Palestinian government. Crafting a resolution that says everything just right will be impossible; either someone will be offended, or others will say it does not go far enough. We know going into this we cannot win. Because of the controversies, some County staff have suggested ending proclamations. I can understand the sentiment. I dislike the ugly moments, too. But in my opinion, any negatives have always been outweighed by the positives that come with proclamations. So I am going to continue advocating for Johnson County to use proclamations to support our residents. What are your thoughts? *DID YOU KNOW? Big swaths of Johnson County were blanketed by 2+ feet of snow last week. That amounts to the largest snow event in 11 years! Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website- www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov. "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. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you! ---Rod
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