4 finalists advance in search for new Linn County supervisor

CEDAR RAPIDS — Four finalists out of 17 applicants will move forward to interviews for a soon-to-be-vacated seat on the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

The Linn County Committee of County Officers met Wednesday to discuss the applications received to replace District 2 Supervisor Ben Rogers, who will resign next week to assume a role with UnityPoint Health—St. Luke’s Foundation.

After a review of all application materials, the committee — made up of Auditor Todd Taylor, Recorder Carolyn Siebrecht and Treasurer Brent Oleson — selected four finalists for the next stage of the appointment process to the three-member board that oversees county government. Those finalists are:

The committee will interview candidates Monday at the Jean Oxley Public Service Center. A meeting notice will be posted at least 24 hours in advance and the public can attend either in person or online.

Barring any scheduling issues, the committee could then make a formal appointment as early as Tuesday. The selected applicant will serve as supervisor until the 2026 general election at an annual salary of $135,294.43.

Applicants this month were sought to replace Rogers, a Democrat, who will resign effective Tuesday after 16 years on the board. The other two members of the board are Democrat Kirsten Running-Marquardt and Republican Brandy Z. Meisheid.

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

A total of 17 people applied for the position by the March 23 deadline, and those application materials were reviewed by the Committee of County Officers.

The Gazette requested applications for all 17, but a county spokeswoman said the records would not be released until Friday.

Before the committee’s meeting Wednesday, the committee members independently indicated which candidates they believed should receive an interview. To receive an interview, a candidate had to have received at least two votes. Harris Carter and McCalmant each received three votes. Jessen and Scheetz each received two.

“Looking at all of this, my interpretation is that we should take anyone with two or more to interview and go from there,” Siebrecht said. “Not that anybody else isn’t necessarily worthy, but at this point in time … I think we need to be looking at our top candidates.”

Applicants Andrew Whiting, Dennis McNamara, Evan Langston, Kris Gulick and Tomas Podzimek each received one vote. Applicants without any votes were Alvin Ehler, Brandon Eales, Corey Miller, Jennifer Fishwild, John Markham, Stephanie King, Tremain Woods and Wifag Mohammed.

However, county officials said the appointment is contingent on two factors.

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. In that case, the appointee would serve on an interim basis until that election is held.

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 headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for approval.

The bill would take immediate effect once signed, meaning the county would be required to hold a special election to fill the District 2 vacancy unless an appointment had already been made by the time the law is signed.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Taylor said the county will move forward with the appointment process until otherwise directed by law. Given the uncertainty around if or when Reynolds would sign the law, he stressed the importance of efficiency in the coming days.

“We need to operate under the current law until it changes. Then we’ll operate under that law,” Taylor said. “All that is to say that we need to keep things moving expeditiously … and advance to the interview stage as soon as possible.”

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