I remember walking into the Johnson County Courthouse that day. I had done so many times before, but this time felt different.

It was late June, and I had recently been one of three candidates for supervisor (out of seven) to make it through the Democratic Party primary. Given the edge that Democrats typically enjoy in general elections, it looked pretty certain that I would be elected to the board.

Remember the classic scene at the end of the 1972 movie “The Candidate”?

Robert Redford wins the election, turns to his campaign manager, and says, “What do we do now?”

I think every elected official goes through a moment like that upon first being elected.

I had my moments of doubt as well, but I also had a plan: I would seek some advice from Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White. That is why I found myself heading into the courthouse on that June day.

So I went into my meeting with White that day asking for him to impart some wisdom.

I had a few questions. One thing I had never considered: What were the benefits of the job? I had three young children at home, and I had never bothered to look into it. White reassured me that county insurance was quite good.

Then I asked about vacation and sick leave. “You don’t have it,” he replied. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“You do not have sick leave or vacation. Elected officials do not punch a clock. You work as much or as little as you see fit.”

“Well, how would I know if I took too much vacation or sick time?” I asked. White smiled and said, “The voters will let you know.”

As it turned out, this may have been one of the rare occasions where White was wrong.

As a matter of fact, voters seem to pay zero attention to the attendance of elected officials.

About the same time, I squeezed through the primary here, a Scott County supervisor named Otto Ewoldt suffered a stroke. He went into a nursing home and never returned to work.

Ewoldt never resigned. So, he remained an elected supervisor, getting paid and receiving benefits, never attending a single county function, for more than a year.

Finally, some Scott County residents began to complain. Obviously, it was not Ewoldt’s fault that he could not do the job. But the fact remained – the people of Scott County deserved their full complement of supervisors.

Finally, he resigned, a full two years after his stroke.

In the meantime, the Iowa Legislature took a look at the laws governing elected officials.

In response to the Scott County situation, they came up with the following fix: “An elected official may also be removed from office by the district court for several specific, statutorily defined reasons. These are: willful or habitual neglect or refusal to perform the duties of office; willful misconduct or maladministration in office; intoxication, or being convicted of intoxication; corruption; extortion; conviction of a felony; or conviction of violation of the provisions of Iowa Code chapter 56 (Campaign Finance Disclosure Law).”

We have not had anyone removed from office here in Johnson County. However, former Supervisor Larry Meyers died of cancer while in office. Meyers was unbelievably committed to the job and came to work on days that truly amazed me.

Still, at the very end, Meyers probably went a month or more without attending any meetings or other county functions.

Meyers’ situation was not difficult to understand, nor difficult to accept. What is much tougher to address is an elected official who simply does not do much work.

I almost always work a little more than 40 hours per week. Much of that is in the office; some is out of the office. Some is after hours.

But all in all, you get a little more than 40 hours from me every week. Johnson County Treasurer Tom Kriz is a darn hard worker; he puts in 55 hours every week without fail. But most people do not know that.

I think there is just an assumption that elected officials work 40 hours and take maybe two weeks of vacation. But it is wrong to assume.

I can assure you – even on a five-person board, it matters when a single supervisor cannot or will not attend to the job.

It means more calls and emails for the others. It means the others deal with more questions from department heads. It means the others have more meetings.

Elected officials are pretty well compensated. It seems to me that a pretty minimal expectation is that they come to work.

If an elected official cannot or will not, she or he owes it to the people to resign.

I know I am blessed with good enough health to do the job. I am fortunate.

If my health was too bad to do the job, I would resign. In my opinion, the job is bigger than any one person.

If you cannot or will not do the job, you need to step down and let someone else do it. The public deserves full representation.