SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 11, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 6/13/24
In this edition:
*IC Pride
*Father’s Day
*Juneteenth
*Election Musings
*Tiffin Law Enforcement Contract
*Did You Know?
*IC Pride
Pride is this month in Iowa City, and there are numerous events throughout June. For a list, please see: https://www.iowacitypride.org/year-round-events.
The Pride Parade and Festival are two of my favorite events each year. I hope you can get out and show your support, particularly in light of all the bullshit Kim Reynolds and crew are pulling.
Please allow me to call particular attention to the annual Pride Parade at noon on Saturday, June 15, followed by the annual Pride Festival on the Ped Mall. Happy Pride, all!
*Father’s Day
Father’s Day is June 16. 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.
Being a dad is the best thing I have ever done. It is also the most difficult. I imagine that is the case for most fathers. And sometimes, we are not birth fathers; we are just folks trying to help the best we know how.
It has been decades now since I have had the pleasure of enjoying a living father or grandfather. If you are lucky enough to have a father or grandfather around, please take a moment to reach out to him this weekend.
*Juneteenth
Johnson County is working with a number of community partners to present a whole week’s worth of Juneteenth activities! There are several virtual events, all listed on the webpage.
For more info, visit the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/jciajuneteenth.
By the way, in 2021, The Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for union and non-union employees. The decision followed President Joe Biden declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday for the first time two years ago and many other Iowa cities doing the same.
One difference? Most cities and counties took away a different holiday in order to acknowledge Juneteenth. Many, for example, swapped it out for President’s Day. Johnson County simply added a new holiday. I am proud of that.
*Election Musings
Here are a few random thoughts about the June 4 Primary Election:
Turnout was only 8.1%. That is pretty awful, folks! I looked back over several elections, and had to go back to 2008 to find a lower turnout – 16 years ago! In that election, three incumbents (Neuzil, Harney, and myself) were the top three vote getters and challenger Terry Dahms was fourth. Turnout in ’08 was only 6.2%.
There may be some good possibilities hidden away there, however – 2008, despite being a very low turnout primary, was the same year we had our highest turnout general election ever! Let’s hope Democrats can duplicate that feat!
What does that poor turnout mean? I’m not sure. On one hand, voters gave the most votes to the two longest-serving candidates. On the other, they defeated an incumbent for a challenger. My guess is it had more to do with individual candidates than overall Board direction.
I know that conventional wisdom is that incumbents never lose, but that really isn’t true. 2024 marked the third time during my service that an incumbent was defeated. In 2006, challenger Larry Meyers beat incumbent Mike Lehman over the Newport Road issue. In 2018, challenger Pat Heiden defeated incumbent Mike Carberry. Then in 2024, challenger Mandi Remington defeated incumbent Royceann Porter.
Another interesting tidbit from the 2024 primary? There were only 2.0 votes per person cast. That is really low (in the years where 3 Supervisor seats are up.) The average is typically more like 2.6 votes per person. So what happened? There might be a couple of answers to this question:
First, a lot of folks “bullet voted,” meaning they voted for a single candidate only. With an average of 2.0 votes per person, we can assume that for every person who voted for 3 candidates, another person chose only one.
Additionally, I heard a lot of (admittedly anecdotal) reports of people voting for two candidates but being undecided on a third, and simply leaving it blank. I think there may have been a bit more of this than normal.
There were a few strange bedfellows in this election – I got asked a lot about Mary Mascher’s endorsement of Bob Conrad. I don’t have any insights there – you’d need to ask her. Some folks have asked me if Conrad’s candidacy cost Royceann the election. I think that is impossible to determine. The bottom line is, the election is over, and we have our Democratic slate moving forward.
That’s all I have for now. What are your thoughts?
*Tiffin Law Enforcement Contract
I wanted to address some recent criticisms of the groundbreaking law enforcement contract between Tiffin and Johnson County. First, a bit of background: Tiffin is one of the fastest growing cities in Iowa. The 2020 census had it at 4600 residents, and just 4 years later that number is about 6000. Tiffin is also home to several large and growing schools, and a rapidly expanding business community.
When a community grows that quickly, it is difficult for municipal government to keep up. All the new residents want services and amenities, and it is hard to pay for everything. According to Tiffin elected officials, city staff, and Tiffin residents, one of the biggest needs is more law enforcement.
Currently, Tiffin (like most small towns) contracts with Johnson County for law enforcement. But they only pay for a few hours per day, and the Sheriff’s Office uses up all the city’s contracted time on calls for service. So there is little extra time to patrol.
One of the really expensive things growing communities are asked to do is to start a police department. While it might sound great, starting a police department is a huge undertaking. In addition to hiring officers, a city needs to consider facilities, equipment, training, vehicles, operational plans, support functions, communications, records management, investigations, liability, and much more. Then you have to figure out what all that will cost.
Tiffin has chosen to go a different route for the time being. As of July 1, they are contracting with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for five full-time officers. Tiffin is paying for everything, but the officers will continue to be supervised by Sheriff Kunkel and his management staff. The officers are to be 100% dedicated to Tiffin, but in a big emergency, could certainly respond to a nearby area.
The five officers is an important number. Tiffin is attempting to get pretty close to having 24/7/365 police coverage. There are 168 hours in a week. Four officers could, in theory, handle that, but that does not account for vacation, sick leave, training, differing shifts, etc. So five officers gets you pretty close to 24/7/365 coverage.
Allow me to address a couple of the arguments I have heard against this arrangement:
1. What if Tiffin cannot afford to pay? Answer: Johnson County has the ability to end the contract if we are not paid.
2. What do you do with the 5 officers then? Answer: Johnson County has about 100 sworn officers. A few of these folks retire, quit, or otherwise move on each year. Basically, the Sheriff’s Office is pretty much always hiring. It would be easy to simply shift these folks to other positions in the Sheriff’s Office.
3. Who decides what the officers do? Answer: They continue to be supervised by Sheriff Kunkel and his management team.
4. What if the appropriate response is not a cop but a social worker? Answer: Johnson County has access to such folks, and uses them as appropriate. Tiffin will have the same access as every other resident for whom the Sheriff is the primary law enforcement provider. (This is a benefit they would not have, BTW, if they were starting their own police cdepartment.)
I have heard others claim this contract is “out of proportion.” I don’t really know what is meant by that, but consider this: Experts say you should have between 1.8 and 2.6 full time officers for every 1000 residents. Some “experts” feel this is far too low, and suggest twice that. Some “experts” believe this is far too high, and suggest half that. Either way, Tiffin is nowhere near even the lowest suggested numbers right now. Five full time officers puts Tiffin at about one officer per 1200 residents, or .83 per 1000. But it is a big improvement from where they sit now!
Here is the most important thing: the people of Tiffin want this, and they are willing to pay for it. Why in the world would anyone stand in the way of that? My job as a County Supervisor is to try to help the public. Most of the 6000+ Tiffin residents want more police, and they are willing to pay for it. Why would I deny them that? Tiffin deserves self-governance and local control!
*DID YOU KNOW? I have won 11 elections, including 6 Democratic primaries and 5 General elections.
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 @ 5:55 PM
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