IOWA CITY

Last week’s firing of Guillermo Morales, formerly the executive director of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, caused a division, and controversy, among the five supervisors.

It produced accusations and direct disagreements in open session.

And it turned a personnel discussion, usually reserved for closed sessions and out of the public eyes, into the open with Morales unable to fully defend himself and the usual public comment times being blocked by Supervisor Chair Rod Sullivan.

Supervisors Lisa Green-Douglass and Royceann Porter voted in favor of Sullivan’s recommendation to fire Morales for being “insubordinate, argumentative and disrespectful,” among other charges. Supervisors V Fixmer-Oraiz and Jon Green voted against the dismissal.

“This is, I feel, wildly inappropriate,” said Fixmer-Oraiz.

Morales reportedly supported Fixmer-Oraiz’s political campaign for supervisor two years ago and also the campaign of supervisor candidate Mandi Remington, who defeated Porter in a Democratic primary last spring.

By the end of two days of Board meetings, Morales was relegated to the spectator section and not allowed to speak because there was no public hearing, Fixmer-Oraiz was mildly scolded by Sullivan for not being in the county offices more than she is and Porter insisted she is not the “angry Black woman” that some have accused her of.

Morales, whose annual salary of more than $118,000 is larger than the salaries paid to county supervisors, was hired in March 2023.

The dramatics began Wednesday morning when Morales declined a closed session and said he was not told in advance what the session’s subject matter was.

When Sullivan asked Morales in open session whether he preferred a closed session, which every manager in recent history has done during a formal evaluation discussion, Morales replied, “I was denied the right to know what this was about.”

Sullivan: “It’s a yes or no question.”

Morales: “It’s not, actually.”

Sullivan: “It is.”

Morales: “No, it’s not.”

The discussion grew even more heated after that. Morales eventually agreed to keep the session open to the public, declaring he is considering a lawsuit for wrongful termination, and Sullivan read a prepared statement, which was not shared with other supervisors before Wednesday. In the statement, he called for Morales’ dismissal.

“You misunderstand your role and exceed your authority,” Sullivan said, reading the statement. “You have been insubordinate, argumentative and disrespectful.”

Sullivan said Morales was “harsh” to county staffers in multiple departments. Among those: Porter and Green-Douglass.

“As chair, I have spent countless hours apologizing for your rudeness and trying to mend fences only to watch you continue your abrasive and corrosive behavior,” Sullivan said.

“I believe you are a constant source of friction across county government. I believe your termination is the only way to resolve these issues.”

As Sullivan opened up the discussion to other supervisors, Fixmer-Oraiz spoke against the dismissal and instead suggested, and made a motion, that a performance improvement process be put into place to help coach Morales through internal issues. Fixmer-Oraiz said that Sullivan and Green, who are liaisons to the executive director, should have worked with Morales.

“As the chair and his liaison, I feel it’s just inappropriate, Rod,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “You said you have lost confidence, but I have not.”

Fixmer-Oraiz’s motion was seconded by Green, but was voted down by Sullivan, Green-Douglass and Porter.

Then, a motion by Green-Douglass for dismissal resulted in a 3-2 vote with Green-Douglass, Sullivan and Porter voting for termination.

More fireworks arrived the next day, Thursday, when the Board held its weekly formal meeting and Morales was in the audience. Public comment was shut down, except for two proclamations the Board approved for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Welcoming Week.

Once the business of the day was concluded in less than an hour, emotions boiled during closing comments.

“What happened yesterday was hard, but determination was for the behavior,” Porter said. “This isn’t about retaliation. This has nothing to do with me.”

“When I have to stand up and protect myself,” she added, “I become the angry Black woman. That’s what I’m considered, the angry Black woman. And it’s OK. I’m going to continue to be the angry Black woman because I’m going to continue to fight for myself. I’m going to continue to fight for the people in my community. That’s what I do. I’m not an angry Black woman. I’m very passionate. I’m very emotional. I love what I do.”

Speaking to Fixmer-Oraiz, who sits beside Porter at Board meetings, Porter said: “You’re going to defend your friend. And I’m going to defend what I did yesterday because of the treatment that the people in Johnson County have received. I know there are people that are upset about what happened and how it happened. We asked Guillermo to have a closed session. It didn’t have to go public.”

Fixmer-Oraiz said they have already begun to set up meetings with county staffers following a series of email messages.

“I am saddened and disappointed that we lost such a great leader, one who picked up the pieces from our former director and uplifted and managed a hard-working, community-oriented team,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.

Sullivan, who had the last words Thursday, agreed to work on any improvements that would help county staffers and then directly addressed Fixmer-Oraiz.

“I think a lot of that starts with showing up. Being here. Not talking to five people. There’s 600 (county) employees in Johnson County and 160,000 residents,” he said. “I suggest talking to more than five of them. I think you’ll find some interesting things. You keep saying I’m here for the work, except you’re not here.”

Morales told The Gazette of Cedar Rapids that being presented as a bad role model is “laughable, when they conduct themselves the way they do.”

“It’s quite obvious to me that there’s an issue with my personal position on matters of public concern, which is a violation of my first amendment rights, and also possibly discrimination based on race or ethnicity, and I intend to pursue those claims,” Morales, a Latino who has been an adjunct lecturer at the University of Iowa, told The Gazette.

Green, a former Lone Tree mayor, told The News that it was a disappointing week that “did nothing to advance the interests of the county.”

Board Actions

The Board awarded a $1.6 million contract to Peak Construction Group of North Liberty for construction of a commercial kitchen at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm.

The Board approved recommendations from Iowa City and Johnson County assessors for Homestead tax credits, military exemptions and 65-plus Homestead exemptions.

The Board adopted a resolution designating the county’s Board Executive Director, Finance Director and Deputy Auditor as Johnson County representatives for provisioning GovConnectIowa access.

Next meeting:

The Board’s next formal session is at 5:30 p.m. September 12. This is the monthly evening session that includes a number of public hearings associated with rezoning and platting applications.