All-Dem Johnson County primary

IOWA CITY - It will be all Democrats in Johnson County's June 8 primary election.

County Attorney Janet Lyness, Recorder Kim Painter and Treasurer Tom Kriz filed papers to run in the Democratic primary. No Republicans filed nomination papers by Wednesday's deadline.

As previously reported, incumbent Democratic supervisors Sally Stutsman and Janelle Rettig also are seeking re-election. There are no Republican supervisor candidates.

Candidates not from the two main political parties can still get on the Nov. 2 general election ballot by filing in August. Republicans could nominate someone by convention to fill a ballot vacancy.

For now, though, it looks like Democrats will continue to dominate Johnson County politics.

Lyness, 51, of Iowa City, is in her first term as county attorney.

“I like what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, but there's a lot more I'd like to accomplish,” she said.

That includes new programs aimed at getting treatment for those with alcohol and minor marijuana offenses instead of sending them to jail. Known as diversion programs, they'd be similar to drug court, something Lyness pointed to as a highlight of her first term.

Painter, 52, of Iowa City, is seeking a fourth term as recorder. Her office houses many public records, issues marriage licenses, and registers and titles recreational vehicles.

She said the office's operating expenses, minus salaries, are less than half of what they were when she first took office in 1999.

“There's always more to do,” she said. “There's always something going on in terms of technological innovation.”

Kriz said the Treasurer's Office also has been a good steward of the taxpayers' money. He said he's reduced his staff from 23 full-time and 3 part-time employees when he took office in 1999, to 13 full-time workers now. He said technology, like the ability to pay taxes and renew vehicle registration tags online, has made that possible.

“We set some goals to become as efficient as possible, and we want to continue with that,” said Kriz, 62, of Iowa City.

All of the county officials serve four-year terms.