Johnson County supervisors take steps toward redistricting

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has taken the next steps in forming a temporary redistricting committee to create supervisor districts after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill last month requiring them to do so.

Senate File 75 requires the three Iowa counties that are home to regents universities to elect their county supervisors by districts, rather than at-large. All three counties — Johnson, Black Hawk and Story — currently have Democratic-leaning boards and elect supervisors countywide.

The Johnson County supervisors formed a three-person committee, with two members appointed by the board and one by the Johnson County Republicans.

The board plans to appoint Sue Dvorsky, former chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, and Nate Mueller, assistant director of planning, development and sustainability for Johnson County. Members of the board came to a consensus on the appointments at a work session Wednesday.

The Johnson County Republicans have appointed Thomas McInerney, an Iowa City-based architect. McInerney has served previously on the campaign committee with the county party.

Commission to work with staff

The commission will work with county staff to develop a precinct plan that divides the county into five equal-population districts. That plan will be submitted to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office by Oct. 1.

Then the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency will draw and publish the representation plan by Jan. 1, 2026, showing the five districts.

“ … It is just paperwork,” County Auditor Julie Persons said of the role of the commission. “... It’s looking at the current precincts and seeing if anything needs to be adjusted. It was just done four years ago, so there shouldn't be a lot of adjusting. … We're doing all the precincts in the county, just making sure everything is up to date and looks good. So when we submit it, (the Secretary of State’s Office) will have our correct precincts.”

To serve on the redistricting commission, a person must be an eligible voter in Johnson County. Members appointed by the board do not need to have a specific party affiliation. The county staff requested the members be available during business hours on weekdays to meet.

“I am interested in the different demographics of the region and its diversity, and I like to see how the precincts are all interconnected and how those districts get to be allocated into five different districts. Sure each district will have its own characteristics, and it will give us an opportunity to give a suggestion to the Legislative Services Agency, and hopefully they will take the input with some consideration, and we'll see how they will eventually come up with a map,” McInerney said in an interview.

Dvorsky and Mueller could not immediately be reached for comment.

Random draw for district term limits

In order to create staggered terms, some supervisor districts will be assigned two-year terms and others will be assigned four-year terms to serve after the November 2026 election. All five members of the board will face election in 2026.

Persons said she plans to use a random selection process to determine which districts get which terms after the plan has been approved and published. After the 2026 election, supervisors will to be elected in staggered four-year terms.

“I will come to a meeting so everybody can watch it … because at that point we'll know where the districts are. It'll be all random and available for the public to watch,” Persons said at a work session last month.

Board Chair Jon Green and Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz’s terms are set to end in 2026. Supervisors Rod Sullivan, Mandi Remington and Lisa Green-Douglass were elected to new four-year terms in November 2024 — but now face a 2026 election.

Next steps

The supervisors will formally vote to appoint Dvorsky and Mueller at their formal meeting Thursday. Once the members are confirmed, the Auditor’s Office will begin the process of connecting them with staff to develop the precinct plan.

Before the precinct plan being sent to state, the commission will hold a public hearing to present the initial precinct plan to the public.

The commission has until Oct. 1 to submit the plan to the state, though county staff has said it would like the commission to finish its work this summer.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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