SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 28, 2026
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/2/26
In this edition:
*Happy Independence Day!
*USA 250
*Savannah Bananas
*RIP Valerie Kemp
*County Manager Form of Government
*Looking for Work!
*Did You Know?
*Happy Independence Day!
Happy Birthday to the USA! 250 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.
*USA 250
I hate to say it, but I am sad about America’s 250th birthday. I am old enough to have a lot of good memories from the Bicentennial celebration in 1976. I think it sucks that the current generation has no nonpartisan celebration of which to speak.
*Savannah Bananas
Iowa City is in for a treat on July 3 & 4 when the Savannah Bananas come to Kinnick Stadium for two shows!
If you are not familiar with the Bananas, check them out online. Probably the easiest way to describe them is to call them the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. If you want to see one of the games you will need to hit the secondary ticket market, as both games have been sold out for quite a while.
Even if you are not interested in going, be aware of these events! This will be a full Kinnick Stadium two consecutive nights! So have a plan if you need to navigate the area either night.
Thanks to Josh Schamberger and the fantastic staff at Think Iowa City for lining this up. This is just one example of the hundreds of fantastic experiences they help to create in Johnson County every year. Whether it is sports, dining, arts, entertainment, festivals – Think Iowa City makes us better.
*RIP Valerie Kemp
We lost my friend Valerie Kemp a while ago, but her family was not comfortable putting anything out there until now. I was honored to say a few words at her service. I have reproduced some of that here.
I first met Val back her days with Lutheran Social Services. We became friends, and stayed friends and colleagues through her long tenure with the Iowa Department of Corrections. Val was not just good at her job – she was once named the National Corrections Officer of the year!
Valerie Kemp inducted into JC Dems Hall of Fame (HOF) in 2019. It is the highest honor the local party has. It is truly a lifetime achievement award. Val’s father Bob Kemp and stepmother Chris Kemp were actually in the first HOF class in 1997.
Val was an organizer and a volunteer. If you needed to get something done, she was your person. If you needed to feed 300 people, she was REALLY your person!
The biggest fundraiser for the JC Dems is the Fall BBQ. Has been since at least the 70s. Val was a key volunteer for every JC Dems BBQ starting from the first I ever attended on through about COVID. She volunteered for at least 30 years.
Val assigned people to bring things, lined up volunteers, made food, set up tables, took down tables, and when it was all said and done, sat around the keg with the Carpenters, Laborers, Ironworkers, Teamsters, and drank beer.
By the way – one of the Dems’ problems right now? We lost a lot of those labor folks. We don’t have a crowd that would sit around a keg today.
Part of why Val loved those folks and they loved her was that she was a hardcore union activist. She was very involved in her union, and she always looked out for workers. We need more of that.
A successful Democratic Party needs people who can hold the attention of a room. But it is even more important to have people like Valerie Kemp. Who reserved the room, invited the people, set it up, made the food, collected the money, and then cleaned the whole thing up.
I miss Valerie Kemp. I admire her so much. She was smart, kind, hardworking, fair, generous, and funny. Thank you for allowing me a few moments to share these remembrances.
*County Manager Form of Government
On Thursday, June 25 the Press Citizen published an article that claimed the Board had “voted 3-2 to reject the idea of pursuing a County Manager Form of Government.” I do not feel this is an accurate portrayal of that meeting.
First, there was no formal vote. So there is no "3-2" decision here. This was a discussion of the Strategic Plan, and whether the topic should be included in the Strategic Plan. Only Supervisor Fixmer Oraiz wanted it included in the plan. Supervisors Green and Green-Douglass described it as a “dealbreaker;” Supervisor Remington seemed solidly opposed.
To be clear, I am not in favor of a move to a County Manager form of government. I did say that if enough members of the public asked for it, then the Board should discuss it. (I feel that way about most things, frankly; that is how representative government is supposed to work.) But agreeing to discuss the subject is not an endorsement of a different form of government.
Each government is only as good as the people leading it. Period. It does not matter what form said government takes; good people in leadership positions will provide good governmental services. The wrong people in leadership will not get good results. That part is simple.
I can understand why some people might be upset with the current Board of Supervisors. The past six years (ever since COVID) have been extremely challenging. But I do not believe a different form of government is necessarily the answer.
The many criticisms of our current system make sense. It is hard to elect the right people. It requires 5 smart, hardworking, compassionate, strategic-minded people who are willing to compromise, put politics aside, and be willing to do what is right. They need to do so even at the expense of their own seat. They need to be good communicators who can manage people. That is a tall order. We have not always had that.
So what can we do? We must start with this – Supervisors need to do the work! I am sick of people phoning it in, both literally and figuratively. Voters should be, too! But it is up to voters to hold Supervisors accountable.
Secondly, Supervisors are very overpaid. Period. Most do not work anything close to a 40 hour week, yet earn just under $100,000. This is simply too much compensation given the lack of accountability.
One Supervisor has suggested that Supervisors could take a 10-15% cut in salary to pay for a County Manager. I believe that if a County Manager is hired, Supervisors need a 60-70% cut in salaries. Again, the public must demand more accountability, not less.
But professional managers systems are not perfect, either. I remember all too well the 1996 Eric Shaw killing in Iowa City. No situation has ever made a better case for the leader of your law enforcement being directly elected. That is why I love direct elections of the Sheriff and County Attorney. If those people are not reflecting the will of the people, the people can vote them out.
There is a level of accountability in the current system that would be gone in a County Manager form of government. And I simply do not see how that improves anything.
I keep coming back to what I said earlier – it is the people that matter the most, not the form of government. I truly believe Johnson County MUST do better. But changing the form of government is likely not the answer.
*Looking for Work!
Because I was defeated in the June 2 Democratic Primary for District 4 Supervisor, I am going to need to figure out what comes next.
Let me begin by acknowledging that I am very fortunate. I technically hold this seat until the end of 2026. I have that long (if I need it) to figure out what is next. I recognize that many people lose jobs on the spot, or with a two-week notice. So again, I know I am blessed.
What is next? I do not know! That is a bit scary, and a bit nerve-wracking. It is also quite exciting. I have interest and experience in many different areas, and I am pretty open to suggestions.
That is where you come in, Salvos readers! Please let me know if you are aware of any opportunities that you feel might be appropriate for me. I appreciate any leads you might have!
*DID YOU KNOW? John Adams wrote multiple times about how July 2nd would be celebrated for years to come as the day the Declaration of Independence was signed. What Adams did not consider was that copies got made on July 3rd, and only the signers and the printer saw it until July 4th. Obviously, July 4 ended up being the day we celebrate.
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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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:01 PM
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