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Swisher mayor wins Johnson County Democrats’ nomination to run for county auditor
Julie Persons won the nomination at a special nominating convention Saturday
Aug. 24, 2024 1:33 pm
NORTH LIBERTY — Swisher Mayor Julie Persons is the Democratic Party’s nominee for Johnson County auditor.
Persons won the nomination at a special nominating convention held Saturday morning at Liberty High School in North Liberty. The convention was necessary after Travis Weipert resigned from his post as Johnson County auditor and decided not to pursue re-election, citing health reasons.
Weipert, auditor since 2013, ran unopposed in the June Democratic primary and was seeking re-election in the Nov. 5 election.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors appointed Erin Shane, Johnson County deputy auditor, to serve as interim auditor for the remainder of Weipert’s term.
At this point, no Republican is running for the office, which pays $120,000 a year.
The Auditor's Office is responsible for administering local, state and federal elections and maintaining the county's voter registration record. It also maintains records of property ownership for taxation purposes and handles accounts payable and payroll for the county government.
Four people were nominated at the convention to be voted on by delegates in attendance Saturday.
To win the party’s nomination, a candidate had to receive 57 votes, a majority of the 113 county Democratic delegates present at the convention. Two delegates left early and did not vote.
Persons received 60 votes and the rest of the votes were split among the three other candidates:
- Alex Stanton, Johnson County elections technician, received 26 votes
- Shannon Patrick, manager of date management at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, received 21 votes
- Newman Abuissa, transportation engineer at the Iowa DOT, received four votes
Persons, the first female mayor of Swisher, has been in office since January. She serves as the Johnson County Democrats’ public relations chair. She also works at Transamerica as a senior customer care liaison.
“With nearly 20 years of professional leadership experience, I'm ready to step into this role on day one,” Persons said at the nominating convention. “The auditor's office is a complex, multifaceted institution. It requires a leader who can effectively manage all of its divisions and guide them through the upcoming years.”
Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com
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