Barron announces Linn supervisor re-election bid

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County Supervisor Lu Barron has announced she will run for re-election in District 1.

Barron, 56, of 195 Braybrook St. SE, will be running for her fifth term. She has been a supervisor since getting elected in 1996. Before that, she was director of the Freedom Festival.

“In the last two years, all of Linn County has been tested by both nature and the economy,” Barron said in a statement. “It's important to me to continue to help bring our communities back to levels where they flourish more than ever before.”

Barron, a Democrat, said she wants to maintain a balanced Linn County budget and AAA bond rating, work to bring more jobs to Linn County, continue flood and economic recovery and get funding for a Highway 100 extension.

In order to stagger supervisor terms, two of the supervisors elected in 2008 drew shortened terms. Barron is serving a two-year term after defeating Cary J. Hahn in the Democratic primary and winning election unopposed. District 1 is central Cedar Rapids and includes the downtown.

Barron is a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Linn County Public Arts Commission, Linn County Conservation Board, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, New Bohemia/Czech Village Main Street Board, Regional Workforce Investment Board and she is a Linn County Extension Master Gardner.

She and her husband Bill Barron have two grown children. She has taken classes at Kirkwood Community College, but does not have a college degree.

Supervisors in Linn County earn a salary of $70,098. The deadline to file papers to run for supervisor is March 31. The primary is June 8 and the election is Nov. 2.