Johnson County Supervisor Jon Green running for re-election

LONE TREE — Supervisor Jon Green is running for re-election to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, seeking his first full term on the five-member board.

Green, a Democrat, was elected last June in a special election to fill the seat vacated by former supervisor Janelle Rettig. He handily won with 66 percent of the vote.

Green will face fellow Democrats V Fixmer-Oraiz of Iowa City and Seth Zimmermann of Solon in the June primary to select the two who will advance to the November general election.

Early voting begins May 18.

Green, 39, was born in Wyoming but has lived most of his life in the Lone Tree area. He has experience in journalism, public relations and information technology. Green also served as Lone Tree mayor from 2018 to 2019.

He said his time as mayor of Lone Tree is “perhaps my greatest strength” because it helps inform how to support other areas of the county, as well as potential partnerships.

“I think that it will be to the good for everybody in Johnson County if we continue strengthening and deepening the intergovernmental relationships that we have,” Green said.

Green said he has learned a lot in his time on the board but thinks a full term is needed to accomplish what’s important to him.

“I do feel like it's been a good, productive 10 months,” Green said. “I have learned a lot. A lot has happened. There are certainly some disappointments and some things that I'd wished had turned out differently, but on balance, I'm pretty satisfied with the way the previous 10 months have gone.”

If re-elected, Green wants to continue focusing on the county’s projects funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars and getting the funds disbursed over the coming years.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local government … to really try and tackle some things that for too long have either been neglected or that we have let become someone else's problem,” Green said.

Green said the board’s discussions about allocating the county’s $29.3 million taught him a lot. While he is proud of the board’s work, he said the “greatest disappointment” was ending up with a direct assistance program instead of an excluded workers fund.

Green said the direct assistance program is going to make a positive difference for residents, but it could have been done better. He said some of the ARPA conversations were difficult but necessary.

Green said a focus of his if re-elected will be “ensuring we continue to have difficult conversations.”

Another focus, Green said, is to continue following the proposed carbon capture pipelines going through Iowa.

Green said the board last week decided to file objections with the Iowa Utilities Board over two carbon pipelines. One is proposed by Navigator CO2 Ventures and the other by Summit Carbon Solutions.

The two pipelines don’t go through Johnson County but do go through neighboring counties, including Linn. The Linn County Board of Supervisors signed a letter opposing eminent domain for the Navigator pipeline earlier this year.

Green said it’s an abuse of eminent domain and mentioned a potential third pipeline that might go through Johnson County.

With his background in journalism and public relations, Green wants to continue to make Johnson County government more accessible and easier to understand so it’s easier for residents to get involved.

Efforts the county has already taken include hybrid meetings, as well as holding one meeting a month in the evening, Green said.

Two Republican candidates — Jammie Bradshaw of Lone Tree and Phil Hemingway of rural Johnson County — also are running for the two supervisor seats on this year’s ballot.

Supervisor Pat Heiden is not seeking re-election.

Supervisors will be paid $89,129 in fiscal 2023, which begins July 1.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com