Special election possible in Johnson County

IOWA CITY - A petition drive seeking to force a special election for a seat on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors has met its goal, organizers said.

Lori Cardella of Solon sent an e-mail to The Gazette late Thursday night saying her group planned to submit at least 7,759 signatures to the Auditor's Office at 3 p.m. today.

That would surpass the 7,299 signatures - which is 10 percent of the number of Johnson County voters in last year's presidential race - required to force a special election.

Deb Derksen, co-chair of the Johnson County Republicans, said in a phone interview this morning that they expected to collect more than 8,000 signatures.

If the petition is valid, the earliest an election could be held is Dec. 15, County Auditor Tom Slockett said.

The signatures still must be reviewed, something Slockett said his staff would do by the end of the day, if a petition is received. A signee must be an eligible voter in Johnson County.

A seat on the Board of Supervisors was made vacant when Larry Meyers died of cancer in September.

A committee made up of Slockett, Recorder Kim Painter and Treasurer Tom Kriz decided to fill the seat by appointment rather than hold a special election. They cited the estimated $75,000 cost of a special election and the petition option for the public.

That committee appointed Janelle Rettig, a Democrat from Iowa City, to the seat last month. The decision has raised some eyebrows because Painter and Slockett had previously expressed support for Rettig when she declared herself a candidate for the Board of Supervisors last spring.

“I think it was more of an anointing than an appointment,” said Derksen.

A successful petition would undo that appointment and set in motion a whirlwind of activity.

The committee plans to meet at 5 p.m. today. Slockett said Dec. 15 was probably the best date for an election because the law calls for one to be set as soon as practicable, and the following week is Christmas, followed by New Year's.

If Dec. 15 is chosen, the political parties would have to hold conventions and nominate candidates by next Friday, Slockett said. Anyone else interested in running would need to collect 250 signatures by the same deadline to be nominated by petition, he said.

The last special election by petition in Johnson County was 1997, for the county recorder. The last time there was a special election by petition for a supervisor's seat was 1994, according to the Auditor's Office.

There are five seats on the Board of Supervisors. A Republican has not served on the board since 1962.