17 apply for Linn County Supervisors seat ahead of Rogers’ resignation

CEDAR RAPIDS — Seventeen people are vying for a soon-to-be-vacated seat on the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

Applicants this month were sought to replace District 2 Supervisor Ben Rogers, who will resign next week after 16 years on the board. Approximately a year and a half remains in his term.

Interested parties had until Sunday to submit their applications. The Linn County Committee of County Officers will review all applications and interview candidates prior to making an appointment to the three-member Board of Supervisors.

That committee — Auditor Todd Taylor, Recorder Carolyn Siebrecht and Treasurer Brent Oleson, all Democrats — will meet Wednesday to set an interview and appointment schedule. An appointment cannot be made until after Rogers’ April 1 departure.

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Applicants who met the application deadline include:

To apply, candidates were required to be registered voters of at least 18 years old who will have lived within Linn County for at least 60 days prior to the appointment. Further, they must be residents of District 2, which includes eastern portions of Cedar Rapids and a part of Hiawatha.

The person appointed to the position will serve until the 2026 general election at an annual salary of $135,294.43, with two caveats.

After the appointment is made, there will be a 14-day period when a petition — bearing 4,125 signatures of eligible electors — could be submitted to force a special election.

Further, the process could be disrupted by a change in state law that would require board of supervisors vacancies in counties with more than 125,000 residents to be filled via special election if more than 70 days remain in the term.

That legislation has been passed by both chambers in the Iowa Legislature, and the bill is now headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for approval. If signed, that bill could disrupt the appointment process.

Comments: 319-368-8999, grace.nieland@thegazette.com