Sustaining Johnson County and the JC Board of Supervisors

                 

       Carberry                                           Heiden                                      Rettig

Johnson County, Iowa is a terrific place to live if you can afford it and, apparently, a lot of people can because the county is experiencing tremendous growth in the urban areas and that has strained the rural areas. Thankfully, our county has been proactive in preserving and conserving land so that people can enjoy the recreational aspects of our county, which contributes to the overall quality of life. At the same time, efforts are being made to introduce more people to sustainable farming practices through projects like converting the former County Poor Farm to a farming incubator.

   In many ways, our County Board of Supervisors has been instrumental in doing some of this, as well as the County Conservation Board and well-meaning others. And this tension between growth and conservation is not likely to be any less easy to manage in years to come. It is for that reason, I have endorsed Mike Carberry for re-election. I think that he has the right idea in balancing conservation needs with finding ways to pay for them. I also hold Janelle Rettig in high regard, she has been at the forefront of many positive changes in our county where both conservation and human rights are concerned. I feel like the two of them, while very different in the way they approached the Schwab property, were both coming from principled stances.

   I don't know Pat Heiden, but I do know what Oaknoll is and how it has swallowed up a neighborhood to grow a private enterprise for many, many retirees. My chief concern would be that she would apply the same growth principles to our county that she applied to managing Oaknoll and that would be detrimental to the delicate balancing act that is underway right now and will be long into the future.

   I firmly believe that managing the county's growth will be the singular most important issue in choosing whether to continue with incumbents or bringing in a new voice. I feel like this Board of Supervisors, which does not always walk in lock-step, will fare better with the re-election of Rettig and Carberry than to be without either of them. Neither are perfect people, both have been accused of being hard to work with and not always using the best word choices. However, both have rolled up their sleeves, gotten effective policy and practices through and have tried to make amends when they have fell short in the heat of fighting for what they believed was right. I can't imagine asking more of a public servant than that.

Vote for Michael Carberry and Janelle Rettig between now and the June 5th primary. In Johnson County, whoever gets through the primary most likely will be elected in November--if you need the motivation to vote in the primary, let that simple fact be a reason. For information about early voting locations, go here.