SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 17, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/19/24
In this edition:
*Supervisor Roots!
*Congratulations Kyle Nicholson!
*ICCSD
*Building a Team
*We Could Use a Man Like Herbert Hoover Again
*Rural Iowa “Ignored”?
*Did You Know?
*Supervisor Roots!
I have had a wonderful thing happen recently. I have connected with my first cousin once removed, a very nice gentleman named Rich Sullivan who lives in Iowa City. Rich’s dad, Don, was the oldest of a huge Sullivan clan. My grandfather, Tom, was the second oldest.
The generations get a little wonky; Don had children very late for back in those days. So Rich is about 11 years younger than my Dad would be, and about 15 years older than me.
I have really enjoyed reading some family history he left me. One of the cool things I learned? I’m not the first Sullivan to serve as a County Supervisor!
My Dad was Robert Sullivan. His father was Tom Sullivan. His father was Frank Sullivan. Frank’s father – also Tom – was my great-great-grandfather. That Tom Sullivan served as a Howard County Supervisor from 1881-1888!
I had no idea! How cool is that?
*Congratulations Kyle Nicholson!
I will be honest – I was not paying close attention to the process. But I was thrilled to see that Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth is recommending appointment of Lt. Kyle Nicholson to replace the recently retired Shane Kron as Chief of Police.
Nicholson joined the Coralville Police Department as an Officer in 2014, and has served as Community Relations Officer and Patrol Sergeant prior to his current role as Investigations/Administrative Lieutenant and Community Relations Officer. He earned an MS in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University and a BS in criminology from the University of Northern Iowa.
Like many things these days, this makes me feel old. Kyle’s family and ours have attended St. Andrew Presbyterian Church together since the kids were very young. I have known Kyle, his family, and his wife’s family since he was just a little boy. They are all wonderful people!
Most importantly, Kyle is a great guy, and I am sure he will serve Coralville very well. Congratulations!
*ICCSD Elementary Schools
If you haven’t heard, the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) is discussing some big changes at the elementary school level. This is largely brought on by the refusal of Governor Reynolds and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature to adequately fund our schools.
Something is going to be get cut. There simply isn’t enough money to do everything they want to do. The ICCSD did not create the problem, but they have to deal with it. The situation sucks.
The question is, what gets sacrificed? Socio-economic balance in our schools? Class sizes? Closing a few elementaries? All the choices are bad. It is up to you to help the Board decide what choices are most palatable.
So, now is the time to pay attention and get involved. Learn what you need to learn, decide where you stand, and make your case to the Board. They need your feedback. And please show them some grace; they did not create this problem!
*Building a Team
There are several effective ways to build a team. But the most effective methods are not always in service to the greater good. Let’s look at some examples.
One of the best ways to build a team is in opposition to others. We are Hawkeyes – to hell with those Cyclones! The US military understood this well, labelling the opposition “Krauts” or “Gooks.” Because let’s face it – when you are in hand-to-hand combat with another soldier, the military doesn’t want you to be thinking, “He might have a daughter the same age as my daughter.” It’s much easier to kill someone you have dehumanized.
Donald Trump is a master of building a team in opposition to others. Vilify people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and turn your folks against them. That helps build your own team.
Unfortunately, this can happen in our workplaces, too. One department gets told, “You are the only people that work this hard. The others are all lazy and incompetent. It is a good thing you are here to cover for them. This place would fall apart without you. Keep doing great work in spite of them.”
That type of management can be used to create a very tightly knit team. So yes, it is effective. But it certainly is not good for the larger organization. Nor is it good for the larger society.
*We Could Use a Man Like Herbert Hoover
It is cool that a former US President grew up just a few miles from here. It is cool that a boy born into such humble beginnings could become incredibly wealthy, and later become the President of the United States.
That said, I am no fan of the politics of Herbert Hoover. He epitomized the foolhardy idea that everyone should simply, “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” If you read the things he wrote later in life, he is clearly a bitter old man who felt poverty is the fault of the poor.
On the other hand, he led some incredible humanitarian efforts after World War I. And Hoover did one other thing that I believe was critical to our progress in the 20th century, and that we need our government to do again.
While serving as Secretary of Commerce in the Harding and Coolidge Administrations, Hoover led the charge to regulate and standardize electrical sockets and plugs. Before Hoover, outlets could be anything. When an outlet and a plug didn’t quite fit each other, the device did not work. Or worse, there was a fire. Hoover standardized everything, so that all outlets and plugs met the same standards. It was great for safety, and great for business.
I think we need a Hoover-style approach to all the various chargers and cords that exist out there. Just standardize it! Think how easy things would be! It would be a big political winner! Consumers would benefit. And the only “losers” in such a battle are the biggest corporations on planet Earth – Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc. Let’s do it! Someone follow Hoover’s lead! As Archie and Edith Bunker sang, “We could use a man like Herbert Hoover again!”
*Rural Iowa “Ignored”?
I serve on a number of Boards and Commissions that include people from other counties. I am always amazed when they mention that they are afraid Linn and Johnson Counties will “dominate” said group. For the life of me, I do not see where this comes from.
Where does the idea come from that rural Iowa is ignored? I just reviewed the most recent Census data. Iowa has about 3,150,000 residents. 54% of Iowans (1,700,000) live in just ten counties. So one might expect Iowa to be a place where rural and urban interests both matter. Nothing could be further from the truth.
On pretty much all these Boards and Commissions, we operate under a system of one county, one vote. So let’s just say, hypothetically, you have a region that represents Linn, Johnson, Cedar, Louisa, Washington, Keokuk, Iowa, Benton, Buchanan, Delaware, and Jones Counties. You have Linn and Johnson and all the counties surrounding them. If all those counties vote together, they outvote Linn and Johnson 9-2. Yet Linn and Johnson Counties combined have around 390,000 total residents. The other 9 counties have about 150,000 residents – far less than half of the two most populous.
Versions of this exist in every regional initiative of which we are a part. And honestly, it works OK. But not because the system is good. It works because for the most part, County Supervisors regardless of county have been fair-minded, decent people who want to make things work for everyone. If that ever changes, it could get ugly.
The ten counties that house over half the population have pretty much zero political power. Farm Bureau sets the agenda in Des Moines. The Governor and her staff will take calls from rural counties; no such luck for the rest of us.
The Iowa Legislature is constantly spinning out new rules for local governments that ONLY apply to the ten most populous counties. Why? Because Iowa has government of, by, and for rural people. Urban dwellers can expect to be targeted, burdened, and punished.
So this idea that somehow the more populous county is going to “dominate” the group you are in? I think we may need to question this assertion.
*DID YOU KNOW? Herbert Hoover led an interesting life. Orphaned at 9, he was in the first graduating class at Stanford University. (Now home to the Hoover Institute.) Hoover was a multimillionaire as a result of his mining and engineering exploits.
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 @ 12:23 PM
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