SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
July 2, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/4/24
In this edition:
*Happy Independence Day!
*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 4th has parades in Coralville, Sharon Center, Oxford, and Hills.
*How Did We Get Here?
The following article ran in Salvos almost exactly two years 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 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 damned 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 160,000 in 2020. That is a 44% increase.
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 @ 7:08 PM
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