SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 19, 2026
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/16/26
In this edition:
*Neighborhood Centers Gala
*Jasmine Crockett
*A Bold Proposal for the UI
*Something Great in Iowa City!
*Labor Endorsements!
*How Is the Campaign Going?
*Biggest Problem? DOJ!
*Did You Know?
*Neighborhood Centers Gala
The Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC) is holding its 3rd annual Spring Gala on Saturday, April 18 at 5:30 at the Universalist Unitarian church in Coralville.
There is great food and music, a silent auction, and lots of fun! Tickets are still available; you can buy them here: https://givebutter.com/c/ncjcgala2026
or contact the NCJC at 319-354-2886.
My kids went to the Broadway Neighborhood Center, and now I have grandkids at the Pheasant Ridge Center. Please support this important organization!
*Jasmine Crockett
Some of you probably paid attention to the recent Democratic Party US Senate Primary in Texas. In that race, State Senator James Talarico of Austin defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Dallas by about six percentage points to win the Democratic nomination.
Both candidates raised and spent a lot of money. Like most elections it was held on a Tuesday. Obviously, the race was relatively close. Supporters of both sides in this primary said and did some things they shouldn’t. But on Wednesday morning, just a few hours after the race was called for Talarico, Crockett conceded.
She not only conceded, but threw her full support behind Talarico and every other Democrat in Texas. That could not have been easy.
I do not know about you, but I think Crockett deserves tremendous praise for being such a great team player. I hope she gets another shot someday, and I hope folks remember her selflessness.
I am particularly hopeful that candidates in Iowa take note. Following the primaries, we are going to need everyone pulling in the same direction!
*A Bold Proposal for the UI
The University of Iowa has an annual budget of just under a billion dollars. About 25% of that comes from State appropriations, or around $230 million. As you might imagine, despite occasional year-by-year blips, the trend line continues to go down.
I am hoping Rob Sand as Governor will help to change this direction. But let’s imagine the dismal but very real scenario that Sand loses. What is the future of the UI? It is really disturbing to consider. In the event that should occur, here is my “modest proposal.”
What if the UI were to privatize? Obviously, this would be a momentous decision. It would result in significant increases in tuition and significant cuts in course offerings. We would likely see staff and faculty layoffs. Buildings might get closed. It would be painful.
But would it be worth it in the long run? Would the benefits of being free of the yoke of people like Taylor Collins outweigh a decade of horrible finances? I think it is worth considering.
There are examples – National Public Radio was getting about 12% of its funding from the Federal government when that was cut to zero. It is my understanding that they have gotten really close to replacing that lost revenue, and they are now free from the vagaries of the US Government.
There are also private universities in the Big Ten. Northwestern (a full member) is private, as is the University of Chicago (a member for academics only). So there is precedence.
My guess is the bulk of the current GOP would rather get their jollies “owning the libs” than save $230 million a year. But perhaps their constituents would feel differently.
The return on investment from investing in State Universities is huge, and always has been. But that does not keep Legislators from under-investing. The facts don’t really matter here – it is philosophical. So if they are truly philosophically opposed to the spending, perhaps we should create an off-ramp.
I hope we do not have to deal with this. I really truly believe that the State government owes it to the people of Iowa to provide and robustly support a high-quality State University system. But if a majority of Iowans vote to go a different direction? Then we should have a plan B.
*Something Great in Iowa City!
(This ran in Salvos in July of 2025. But I am so impressed, I decided to run it again!)
I LOVE the Iowa City Ambassadors! In case you are unfamiliar, I took the following from their website:
“Launched in 2024, the Downtown Iowa City Ambassador Program is a collaborative effort between the City of Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District. The goal is to make downtown a vibrant, safe, and inviting place for everyone to shop, dine, play, and conduct business. To support enhanced experiences, a significant portion of the ICDD budget with support from the City of Iowa City parking and transportation services is dedicated to keeping the area clean, safe, and welcoming all year round.
Our team of 18 ambassadors work daily from 6:00 AM to evening, providing essential services such as trash removal, sidewalk cleaning, and pressure washing. In addition to keeping our streets clean, the ambassadors serve as helpful resources for both locals and visitors, offering information, assistance, vehicle help, and safety escorts, while reporting issues that need attention.
Not only does Iowa City look much better, the few Ambassadors with whom I have interacted have been exactly that – Ambassadors for Iowa City! I am really impressed with the results of this program!
*Labor Endorsements!
I am very proud to be endorsed by organized labor!
Endorsements so far include:
Iowa City Federation of Labor;
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Building Trades Council;
Carpenters Union Local 1260;
Laborer's Local 43;
Teamsters Local 238;
IBEW 405;
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 125.
In addition, while their unions did not separately endorse, I have been endorsed by the Presidents of:
AFSCME Local 183;
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2547;
American Federation of Musicians Local 450; and
Sheet Metal Workers 263.
Thanks for your support!
*How Is the Campaign Going?
Speaking of the campaign – I have written very little about it here, and that is purposeful. I figure that is not why you subscribe to Salvos, so I am certainly not going to focus on the topic.
That said, I do reserve the right to throw in a few things like the item above. I promise it will not be too much.
I did want to share an anecdote that I find amusing. There is a tendency for people to ask you, “How is the campaign going?” It is amusing because there is simply no way to know!
Every candidate has a few strong supporters and a few folks who do not care for them. More importantly, most eligible voters have *no idea* who the members of the Board of Supervisors are. In that environment, getting good feedback is pretty challenging. No polling exists at this level.
So if you ask me, “How is the campaign going?” I’m going to answer politely. But in truth I have no idea!
*Biggest Problem? DOJ!
(This ran in Salvos on January 8 of this year. I certainly hope things are better now that Bondi is gone, but I fear they may actually get worse. We may have just replaced an incompetent evil person with a competent evil person. We shall see.)
There are so many things so deeply wrong with the Trump Administration, one might believe it is difficult to describe something as “worst.” In fact, I believe there is a “worst” in the Trump Administration that has affected literally everything else. In my opinion, the worst thing to happen during the Trump Administration has been the abdication of duty by the Justice Department.
If Attorney General Pam Bondi had taken her oath of office seriously, the US could be a very different place right now. In the recent past, the DOJ would never have allowed all the financial entanglements of Trump and his cabinet. The “gifted” Qatari jet. Tom Homan and a bag of cash. Kash Patel and Kristi Noem’s profligate spending of public money on personal things. Jared Kushner’s many dealings. All of it is illegal.
She has allowed the DOJ to be co-opted for political prosecutions of Trump’s enemies. She allowed Trump to extort money from businesses in the US and abroad, and allowed him to meddle in business mergers. All of it is illegal.
She has allowed the Administration to ignore court orders on immigration, the Epstein files, and more. Will she explain why Ghirline Maxwell has a cushy federal prison cell? No. Bondi has replaced attorneys who refuse to take illegal actions. All of it is illegal.
Bondi has pressured lower levels of government and private companies to back off DEI commitments. She has allowed illegal union busting. She has overseen the pardoning of all kinds of criminals, including those who killed police officers on January 6, 2021. She has enabled a system of buying pardons from the President. All of it is illegal.
We knew this was coming. Bondi dropped all Florida charges against Trump several years ago after he endorsed her reelection. He knew what he was buying.
We have different branches of government for a reason. It serves as a system of checks and balances. While the DOJ is under the Executive Branch, it, too, has long maintained an independence that served to protect the American people. No more.
There is much evil in the Trump Administration. They are the worst, most criminal Administration in American history. And other than Donald Trump, the person who sold out the American people to the greatest extent ever is Attorney General Pam Bondi.
*DID YOU KNOW? Over 10,000 workers in Johnson County are represented by a union.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:04 PM
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