Seth Zimmermann running for Johnson County supervisor

SOLON — Seth Zimmermann of Solon, a Democrat, is running for a seat on the five-member Johnson County Board of Supervisors.

He’ll face fellow Democrats Jon Green, a supervisor seeking re-election, and V Fixmer-Oraiz of Iowa City in the June primary to select the two who will advance to the November general election.

Zimmermann, 48, has worked as an environmental chemist at Linn County Public Health for the past year. Before that, he worked at the University of Iowa State Hygienic Lab for two decades, where he focused on air quality for 11 years and water quality for 10 years.

He said he’s always been interested in protecting the environment. He is involved with the Bur Oak Land Trust and is a longtime member of Iowa Project AWARE, which stands for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition.

This is Zimmerman’s first time running for elected office.

"The deeper I've gotten into this process and reaching out to people in the community, it's truly remarkable how many great projects are going on around the county and how many great people there are,“ Zimmermann said. ”I'm super excited to get involved in all of it.“

Among the issues important to him, he said, are involving all residents in COVID-19 recovery, protecting the environment and supporting local businesses.

The county’s use of federal pandemic funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, in particular the direct assistance payments, “has really shined a light on the fact that we do have a real need to help people that are underserved, people that are not doing as well in the community,” Zimmermann said.

He said he wanted to get more people involved and engaged in the discussions about how to create “a more diverse and ultimately a more resilient community.”

Zimmermann, who owns the Get Fresh Cafe in downtown Iowa City with his wife, said he’s glad to see the county doing more to connect with rural communities and support them and local businesses.

It’s important to support and help local businesses in all parts of the county, not just in Iowa City, he said.

Zimmermann said having grown up and now living in rural Johnson County, about 5 miles from where he lived as a child, he plans to represent the rural parts of the county “in any way I can.”

“I'm hopeful that I can also help build bridges between rural and people in town,” Zimmermann 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.

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