Democrat versus no-party candidate seems likely for Johnson County special election

IOWA CITY — The special election to fill a vacant Johnson County Board of Supervisors seat is about one month away, and the field of candidates appears poised to pit a Democrat against a no-party candidate.

The Johnson County Democratic Convention will be held at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) at the Coralville Public Library's Schwab Auditorium. At the end of that meeting, the Johnson County Democratic Party will have its nominee for the Jan. 19 special election to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Terrence Neuzil.

So far, the only Democrat to announce for the special election is Lisa Green-Douglass, who has been active in local politics since 1988 and served for 14 years on the Johnson County Democrats Central Committee.

Green-Douglass said she plans to seek the party nomination and is not worried by the short time until the vote.

'If you're focused and organized in the issues and what the voters need, you certainly can do the campaign and voters justice,' she said. 'The reduced time frame does not detract from the seriousness or the importance of the election.'

The election was scheduled earlier this month to fill the seat of Neuzil, who resigned last month to take a job in Michigan. Officials in the Auditor's Office scheduled the vote for Jan. 19 to take care of it before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.

With local GOP officials unable to find a viable candidate in the short time frame, Johnson County Republicans will not host a convention this month. Cyndi Michel, Johnson County Republicans secretary, said Tuesday the organization has had conversations with a prospective candidate but he opted to wait until a later vote.

'We talked with him quite extensively,' Michel said. 'He did leave the door open for the future.'

However, that doesn't mean the Democratic nominee will run unopposed.

Chris Hoffman, who was elected last month to his third term on the North Liberty City Council, announced Monday his run for the supervisor seat as a no-party candidate.

Hoffman said on his campaign website that he feels the county board should be more nonpartisan.

'I think we need to leave partisanship at the door,' he said. 'I hope you will agree that what is needed at the county level is just good common sense representation.'

Other prospective candidates who plan to run as independent candidates have until 5 p.m. Dec. 28 to file with the required 250 signatures.

Early voting begins the week of Jan. 4 at the Johnson County Auditor's Office.

On Jan. 19, the polls for the special election will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.