As you may know, I had the pleasure of serving as the Chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in 2020. Before you offer any congratulations, understand that the role of Chair is simply rotated amongst the members of the Board. Yes, there is technically an election, but tradition here has been that the position of Chair rotates. There are exceptions where certain Supervisors are passed over, but that has happened under pretty extreme circumstances.

Each county does this somewhat differently. In some counties, a single individual has served as Chair for over 25 years. There are counties that have spirited, contested elections for Chair. In other counties, the role of Chair rotates, but only between members of the majority party. Many counties operate as we do. It is all over the board. (Pun intended!)

Serving as the Chair is interesting. While the Supervisors are definitely all equals, there really is more work involved for the Chair. As always, the amount of work any given Supervisor puts in can and does vary greatly.

There is also at least one additional meeting per week to set the weekly agendas. Plus, the Chair has to sign everything. That might not sound like much, but it would surprise you! I counted, and a couple weeks ago I had over 175 documents requiring my signature!

The biggest difference between serving as Chair and simply serving as a Board member is running the meetings. Running meetings well requires more than just reading the agenda. To do it well, one needs to watch the clock, keep everyone involved, read the room, and clearly summarize things. It is tougher than it looks!

I served as Chair in 2008. Blizzards, floods, evacuations, curfews… I didn’t think it could get wilder. Then we had 2020. Pandemic, unemployment, mask ordinances, BLM protests, a contentious election… never say never! Some may go so far as to say I am a jinx!

In all seriousness, I have been faced with some significant challenges while serving as Chair. I hope you feel I have handled these challenges well. All I can tell you is I did my best.

Good luck to Supervisor Pat Heiden who will serve as Chair and Supervisor Royceann Porter who will serve as Vice Chair. I am sure they will do a great job in 2021!

New Committee Assignments

  The Board of Supervisors tries to rotate the committees upon which its members serve. We typically serve on any given committee for 2-3 years, then move on. This ensures that all members get a certain amount of exposure to everything we do. It also ensures that a fresh set of eyes gets involved every so often. Sometimes it is more complicated than this, but that is generally how things work.

This rotation takes place in January every year, so we are all taking on some new and different challenges. I will be serving in the following roles for 2020:

I will be returning to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) of Johnson County Board, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Board, and the Local Foods Policy Council. I am looking forward to working with all of those groups. I will also remain the Liaison to Public Health, which as you can imagine, has been a busy assignment.

There are many, many other boards, committees, and commissions of which I am a part. But this gives you a sense of a few of my assignments.