SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 22, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/24/25
In this edition:
*RIP Pope Francis
*Democratic Candidates for US Senate
*Solar Energy Tidbit
*One Way to Understand Income Inequality!
*Details on Supervisor Districts
*Did You Know?
*RIP Pope Francis
I was saddened to hear of the death of Pope Francis. While my Sullivan family has some very deep Catholic roots, I left the church a long time ago.
But that does not dampen the deep respect I have for this man who did so much to lift up the poor among us. Income inequality is not just the biggest problem of our current moment; it was the issue Jesus mentioned the most.
Thank you, Pope Francis for your humility and continued focus on those with less. Rest in Peace.
*Democratic Candidates for US Senate
As of this writing, there are several Democrats who have expressed an interest in running for the US Senate against Joni Ernst. And what do I see every time this is discussed? Criticism.
They are too young. Too old. Too male. Too white. Too conservative. Too liberal. They can’t win.
Really? Feel that way? Then run for office yourself! Or go find the person that has the exact qualifications you seek, and convince them to run.
I am just *SO* tired of the haters! Find a candidate, and support them in the primary with everything you have. But remember, when the smoke clears, the winner is running against Joni Ernst. Ernst, WHO HAS HELPED TRUMP DO EVERY SINGLE HORRIBLE THING TRUMP HAS DONE!
One more thing… to those of you who want someone not male and not white – did you go all in for Kamala Harris? Did you knock doors? Did you go all in for Deirdre DeJear? Did you send her money? Because not many people did! Did you go all in for Royceann Porter? If the answer is yes, complain away. If not, maybe check yourself.
Please, for the love of God, show a bit of grace. You don’t need to vote for *ANY* of these folks in the primary. But can you just save the criticism for Senator Ernst?
*Solar Energy Tidbit
I got this interesting tidbit on solar energy from my friend Jim Dane:
Iowa has approximately 30,600,000 acres of cropland right now. Currently, about 24,000,000 of that is in corn. HALF of that land – 12,000,000 acres – is currently dedicated to the production of ethanol.
Now let’s look at solar energy. Just 180,000 acres could provide enough solar energy to meet ALL of Iowa’s energy needs. That is one seventieth (1/70) of the acres, and much more energy! That might sound like a lot of land, but it amounts to two 40-acre fields in each township. That would not even be noticed.
Plus you get much improved water quality, much improved soil quality, much improved air quality… and much of the land can be freed up for recreation, conservation, and growing actual food!
This is a no-brainer. But it will not happen with the GOP stranglehold over Iowa and our farmland. I say vote for solar!
*One Way to Understand Income Inequality!
Income inequality is the highest it has ever been. 60 people now have wealth equal to the poorest half of the people on earth. If the United States had the same income distribution it had in 1979, the bottom 80 percent of the population would have $1 trillion – or $12,000 per family – more. The top 1 percent would have $1 trillion less.
Remember when I mentioned perspective? I find the following comparison helpful in terms of understanding the difference between a million and a billion:
Imagine I give you a one dollar bill every second. All day, every day, one per second. At that rate, it would take me 11 days to give you a million dollars.
Now imagine we do the same thing, but I am giving you a billion dollars. I give you a one dollar bill every second. All day, every day, one per second. At that rate, it would take me 32 years to give you a billion dollars!
A million seconds is 11 days. A billion seconds is 32 years!
That last statistic has always been very helpful. People have a very difficult time wrapping their heads around the concept of a billion. Comparing a billion seconds to a billion dollars really helps.
So, if you are reading this? You are likely pretty well off. And there is a small group of people hoarding the world’s resources!
*Details on Supervisor Districts
Now that Governor Reynolds has signed the “Supervisor Districts for Blue Counties” Bill, I thought it would make sense to explain what happens next.
First, a temporary redistricting committee (TRC) is appointed. This group will consist of two people appointed by the Board of Supervisors, and one appointed by the Johnson County Republican Party. That group must be appointed by the end of May. The task of the TRC is to do some re-precincting, then hold a public hearing on their work. (In reality, the Auditor’s Office will do most of the “work;” the TRC is simply guiding and directing an expert staff.) Assuming the Board of Supervisors approves their work, this is sent off to the LSA no later than 10/1/25.
The map is drawn by the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), a nonpartisan agency created to serve all legislators regardless of political party. This is the same group that creates our Congressional maps every ten years.
Parties will be holding primary elections in 2026 anyway. Under normal circumstances, two Supervisor seats would be up for election, those held by Supervisors Jon Green and V Fixmer Oraiz. Now, all five seats will be on the June ’26 primary ballot. Once parties choose their nominees, those individuals move forward to the General Election in November.
On January 2 of 2026, there will be a random selection by the County Auditor where the terms for two of those Districts are four years in length, while the terms for the other two Districts will be two years each. This keeps Johnson County with 5 County Officials being elected every two years – 3 Supervisors, Sheriff, and Auditor in Presidential years, and 2 Supervisors, Recorder, Treasurer, and County Attorney in the Gubernatorial years.
What will the maps look like? The districting rules actually tell us a lot. First, districts need to be very close in population. Second, we know they are using old (2020) census numbers. In the 2020 census, Johnson County had 153,740 people. (It is about 160,000 now.) So each district will have to be close to 30,748 in population. For what it is worth, that is really close to the population of a Statehouse seat.
Other rules shape this even further. If a city is smaller than a district, it cannot be divided. So Coralville (2020 population 22,500) cannot be divided. So Coralville plus 8,000 is one district. North Liberty (2020 population 20,000) cannot be divided. So North Liberty plus 10,000 is a district.
Another rule – you cannot divide a city into more districts than the population allows. So in the case of Iowa City, the 2020 population is 77,000. So Iowa City is almost exactly two and a half districts. That means Iowa City cannot be divided into 4 or 5 districts; it may only be divided into three districts.
Another rule – districts are to be geographically compact. So you can imagine a district that includes North Liberty, Swisher, Oxford, and Tiffin, plus neighboring rural areas. You can imagine a district includes Coralville and Solon, plus neighboring rural areas. Then you would have three districts left. Iowa City has to be a part of all three. The only real question is do they create two districts that are exclusively Iowa City and one that contains 15,000 Iowa Citians plus most rural parts of the county, or do they create three districts that each have about 26,000 Iowa City residents and each have a third of the rural population?
I think we all know the answer. This legislation was passed to elect a Republican to the Board of Supervisors, plain and simple. So the map is going to have the biggest possible rural population plus 15,000 Iowa Citians.
The maps have to be finished by December 31, 2025. So we will officially know what happens at that time. But I think we have a pretty good idea already.
Meanwhile, this could all be for naught. There are legal minds out there who feel this law is unconstitutional, and that voters in these three counties are losing part of their franchise. That would require a voter from one of these three counties to sue and win. That could happen, but I am unaware of any efforts underway.
*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa City native Mary Harlan Lincoln led an amazing life. The daughter of US Senator James Harlan, she married Robert Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. Robert Lincoln pursued a successful career in law, business, and politics, serving as Secretary of War from 1881 to 1885 under Presidents Garfield and Arthur. The Lincolns lived in London as Robert served as Ambassador to the UK from 1889 to 1893 under President Benjamin Harrison. Afterwards, he returned to practicing law. Lincoln was made quite wealthy by his law practice, which included General Counsel to, and later President of, the Pullman Car Company. Mary passed away in Iowa in 1937 at the age of 90.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
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