SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 20, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 8/22/24
In this edition:
*RIP Alejandro Rojas
*Starting the School Year
*Zuri Starts Second Grade!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
*Latino Fest
*Democratic Party Candidates and Democratic Party Resumes
*Did You Know?
*RIP Alejandro Rojas
I am sad to report on the passing of Alejandro Rojas. Some of you may recall Alejandro as a reporter the last couple of years with the Gazette; before that, he spent a couple years covering County Government for the Daily Iowan.
I really liked and respected Alejandro. He was very pleasant and courteous, but also a bit annoying. That is why he had the makings of a really good reporter! He asked the same question 2-3 different ways, challenging me to be consistent in my answers. We played catch once, a story that he wrote up for the DI, and I wrote up for Facebook.
I am so very sorry to hear this. Payers to Alejandro’s family and friends.
*Starting the School Year
I know January 1 is the official New Year, but in Iowa City, the New Year always feels like mid-August. Having lived here 40 years, my circadian rhythms are set to a new academic year being the real new year.
Whether you live life by the semester or not, I hope you have a great academic year!
*Zuri Starts Second Grade!
My granddaughter Zuri starts Second Grade at Horace Mann this year, and our whole household is excited!
I love the improvements that were made at Mann! It is interesting; I was on the Facilities Master Plan (FMP) Committee that decided what the ICCSD would ask voters to approve in the huge 2017 bond issue. (I served on the bond campaign as well.) Mitch Gross (then a West High teacher, now the West High Principal) and I led the charge to ensure that as few schools as possible got closed, and that every school got improvements. The consultants would have closed Mann, Lincoln, Longfellow, Hills, and Coralville Central. We argued to not only keep those schools, but to invest heavily in them. Thankfully, our side won the day!
It is a bit ironic, because I never imagined that 7 years later, my granddaughter would be attending one of the schools we saved! But I am really glad she is!
Good luck, Zuri! Go get ‘em!
*Lone Tree Fall Festival
The Lone Tree Fall Festival is August 23 & 24 in Lone Tree. This event is a great opportunity to share some good times with the fine folks of Johnson County’s “panhandle”!
*Latino Fest
Join us on August 24 from noon to 10 pm at the Ped Mall for Latino Fest Iowa City, a vibrant celebration of Latinx culture! Since 2012, this family-friendly festival has showcased the rich traditions of the Latinx community.
Festival Highlights: Kids' games, entertainment, arts and crafts, Latinx food, and dance classes. Also local vendors and cultural performances. Come celebrate with us and experience the richness of Latinx culture!
Date: August 24, Noon to Midnight on the Ped Mall in Iowa City.
*Democratic Party Candidates and Democratic Party Resumes
I’ve had some recent conversations with folks about the Johnson County Democratic Party. Some feel the JC Dems are too “clubby.” Obviously, the JC Dems want to be a big tent, and do a lot of work towards that end. But perception can mean more than reality sometimes. Is there a right or wrong opinion here?
One of the things I like about the JC Dems is that the only requirement for participation is to just show up. There aren’t many other groups that open. Ironically, some folks feel even this bar is too high. “Why do I have to show up? What about people with kids, or who don’t drive, or don’t have a computer, or (fill in the blank)?”
Frankly, I think that is just sour grapes. Over my 35+ years of involvement, I have seen lots of single parents with kids do things. My late friend Lori Bears never drove, never had a cell phone, and never had a computer, yet she was a valuable member of the JC Dems – a very deserving member of the Hall of Fame. I can think of several other people in similar situations. Everyone can contribute in some way.
Sure, there are people who have differing levels of involvement. And that is fine. But if you want to be a Democratic candidate for office – and have that “D” behind your name – I feel you should pay some dues.
What does “paying dues” mean? It can mean a lot of things. Go to meetings. Knock on doors. Make phone calls. Attend forums. Write letters to the editor. Write postcards. Donate money. Serve on a committee. Feed volunteers. March in parades. Help set up or clean up after events. Work a table. There are twelve ideas right there, and that is barely scratching the surface. I think people who want to appear on a ballot with that “D” behind their name ought to do at least some of these things.
That goes for incumbents, too! In my book, you don’t get a pass just because you got elected once, or twice, or more. Winning elections takes work. Elected officials should lead by example. They should be among the hardest workers.
It is true that we have always had candidates with varying amounts of party experience. Some candidates literally grew up within the party, doing all the abovementioned tasks as children. Others converted from another party as adults. Still others have taken different paths. You don’t have to have a specific background. What you have to do is commit to do the work.
The JC Dems have also always represented a continuum of opinions. There are lots of people over the years who lean a bit more Socialist, or DSA, or Green, or some other party, but vote primarily for Dems. These folks have always been welcome. (Perhaps this does not need saying, but “welcome” does not mean the same thing as, “You will get your way.”)
From the time I started in politics here (35+ years ago) until just a decade ago, we had a very different problem: people who were definitely *NOT* Democrats would simply register as Democrats, then run under the Democratic party banner. But these folks were not actually Democrats, and did not govern as Democrats.
That was a very serious problem for our local politics. There are very few ways for voters to assess candidates for school board or city council. Especially with the tiny amount of media coverage available. The best shorthand for busy voters is, “What political party are they?” It tells a voter quite a bit. So even in nonpartisan races, party ID mattered a lot. I think it still does. And frankly, because of our dearth of local media, it probably means a lot more now than it did 20 years ago.
I have heard the argument, “One can push the values of the Democratic Party without directly working for the party.” I agree wholeheartedly with this. You can be a volunteer and donor at Free Lunch, Table to Table, and your place of worship. And all those things look good on a candidate’s resume. I know I look for such things! And I celebrate everyone who does this type of work. But none of it replaces volunteering for Dems. Not if you want that “D” behind your name.
There are three types of activists out there – those who work inside the party, those who agitate from outside, and those who try to do some of both. If you are just an “outside the party” advocate? You can’t really expect to be embraced as a candidate later. Especially if in your wake there are a bunch of records of you trashing the party. Hey – sometimes the party makes really bad decisions! Sometimes it deserves criticism. But you cannot pretend you own only the good decisions, and not own the bad ones, too.
Here is an example: I was born and raised Catholic. By the early 80s, I could not reconcile the decisions the Catholic Church was making with my own values. I had two choices – stay, and try to fix it from within, or leave, and advocate for the issues I cared about in a different space. I chose to leave. And that is fine. But I don’t get to go back now, call myself a Catholic, and demand that they do certain things. I gave that up. I chose the “outside” role. I now have to accept those consequences. Same applies to someone who decides to agitate from “outside” the Democratic Party. Come back, and you will be welcomed with open arms. But don’t expect to immediately get nominated for office!
I think everyone should understand and acknowledge the fact that you are *NOT* getting elected in Johnson County unless you are a Democrat. Failing to acknowledge this is lying to yourself and others. You think you got elected because of your sparkling personality? You didn’t. You think you got elected because of your great ideas? You didn’t. You think you got elected because of your hard work? You didn’t. Like it or not, you got elected because you are a Democrat. This applies to me, too. It applies to all of us. And it has for decades.
And let me be clear, that is not a terrible thing. I’m proud to be a member of the JC Dems. Don’t like something the Dems are doing? Fix it from within, fix it from outside, or try to balance both. That is up to you.
But anybody out there who is thinking they’d like to run for office some day? My advice is do some volunteering for the JC Dems. The right to carry the torch should be earned.
*DID YOU KNOW? Republicans have only won four Johnson County Courthouse elections (Supervisor, Sheriff, County Attorney, Treasurer, Auditor, Recorder) since 1958.
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 @ 8:46 PM
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