Johnson County Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz to stay on board

IOWA CITY — Johnson County Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz will remain on the Board of Supervisors after rumors spread last week they planned to resign.

Fixmer-Oraiz said that they originally did intend to resign from the $90,000-a-year elected position by the end of the month — about two years before the term ends — but now won’t.

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“This decision was informed by the stark reality of (President-elect Donald) Trump's re-election and the impact it will have on the LGBTQ+ community and trans folks, specifically, including myself and my family,” Fixmer-Oraiz said of a potential resignation. “However, a series of recent events and conversations have changed my mind for now, I have chosen to stay and fight for the Iowa that we all deserve.”

Fixmer-Oraiz is the first transgender person of color to hold county office in Iowa. In addition to the fears about Trump’s second term, Fixmer-Oraiz called out Iowa’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors as a reason it can be difficult to hold public office in the state.

“It has been an absolute honor and privilege to serve in this role, and to do so at a time when the state is actively taking trying to take away your rights, threatening to take them away and then taking them away from our youth, has really felt like being hungry at school,” Fixmer-Oraiz said Monday at a Board of Supervisors meeting.

Fixmer-Oraiz said they would like to continue work in the community on increasing access to affordable housing and inclusive economic development. However, they said they plan to be on “high alert” throughout the Trump administration.

“I will stay for as long as I can, but I will not put my personal body in the line of fire, nor my family’s,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.

Fixmer-Oraiz was elected to the board in 2022. Their term expires at the end of 2026.

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