Incumbents win primary for seats on Johnson County Board of Supervisors

IOWA CITY - Incumbent Johnson County Board of Supervisors Rod Sullivan and Lisa Green-Douglass, and newcomer Kurt Friese, won the Democratic primary Tuesday night for three seats on the board.

With all 58 precincts reporting, Sullivan led the pack, with Green-Douglass finishing second and restaurant owner Friese in third.

'I can't even begin to tell how good it feels to know that the people are affirming the things that we've done during my time on the board. It feels unbelievably good,” Sullivan said. 'There is so much on our to-do list, it's pretty exhaustive actually but I'm really excited to get back at it.”

Oaknoll Retirement Residence Director Patricia Heiden came in fourth, Jason T. Lewis fifth and Mike Hull sixth.

The Democratic Party is set to nominate the top three finishers for the three open seats on the five-member board in November's general election.

Incumbents Green-Douglass and Sullivan ran to retain their seats, while Supervisor Pat Harney created an open seat after he decided not to run for another term.

Friese, who is the owner of the Devotay restaurant in Iowa City, said he is now focusing on projects he will work on if he is ultimately seated on the board.

He said he first wanted to emphasize rewriting the county's land use plan and upgrading mental health care.

'Well, I'm elated and I'm proud of the fact that the voters saw some sense in my point about not pouring concrete on farm land and about lifting our stigma on mental illness,” Friese said.

In an earlier interview, Green-Douglass told The Gazette she wanted to complete projects that she already began as supervisor, which include improving access to local foods as well as improving mental health care. She also cited a lack of affordable housing and food insecurity as issues to make progress on.

The primary winners do not yet have any competition in November's general election. No Republican candidate for supervisor has registered for the race, but any potential candidates have until Aug. 31 to file.

Each Johnson County supervisor serves a four-year term and earns about $60,000 a year, or almost three-fourths of the county auditor, treasurer and recorder's salary. Among other responsibilities, supervisors maintain the county's buildings and roads, approve budgets for county offices, levy property taxes and can enter into contracts for the purchase of property or services.

Current supervisors Janelle Rettig and Mike Carberry will remain on the board as they were elected to four-year terms in 2014.