Linn County races become intriguing

Linn County politics sure got interesting in a hurry.

Back on March 25, Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, penned an op-ed on this very page lamenting that so many candidates seeking county offices on the ballot this year were unopposed. He called for more candidates to make the March 30 deadline and join the fun. He even called for someone to step up and challenge his own re-election.

Because those unopposed candidates are Democrats, some local party activists were none too pleased. This just in, Miller has a decidedly spotty record as a people-pleaser.

So they gave the auditor his wish and persuaded Marion's Joe Stutler, an Army and Army National Guard veteran, to file papers for auditor as a Democrat just ahead of the deadline. Former Gazette reporter Dick Hogan also just made the deadline as a Democratic candidate in supervisor District 2, a seat being vacated by Democrat Linda Langston.

But Hogan may have stepped into the path of a political freight train. Stacey Walker, a former chief of staff for a hotel company and well-regarded Cedar Rapids community leader, is making an impressive run for the District 2 Democratic nod. He jumped into the race in February, received endorsements from a long list of prominent Democrats and commands a social media-driven campaign that feels more like a run for Congress than the county board. His ambitions, indeed, may be higher, and the prospect of putting a young, black leader in a top elected office in this town is generating plenty of excitement, and rightly so. Walker is a heavy favorite in June's primary, and no Republican is yet on the ballot in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. So the seat likely is his for the taking come November.

But that's not soon enough, his supporters say. They jammed the Monday meeting of a three-person county panel charged with temporarily filling Langston's seat when it becomes vacant on April 15. They urged its members, Auditor Miller, Treasurer Sharon Gonzalez and Recorder Joan McCalmant, to appoint Walker to the open post.

Yet again, I find I'm drizzle on the parade.

The notion of three county officials making Walker a supervisor just weeks before voters get a chance to weigh in on his candidacy, in a contested primary, doesn't sit well. I don't believe any candidate, no matter how compelling, should be appointed to a post in the midst of an active election campaign. The fairer route would be to appoint a respected caretaker until November, when a newly elected supervisor takes over.

Walker told me he doesn't think the appointment gives him an unfair advantage. He's clearly sincere. But imagine how his supporters would react if Hogan were somehow appointed. I doubt they would see it as a nonfactor. Hogan, by the way, isn't applying.

The vacancy panel is taking applications and will hold public interviews. We'll see what happens, but I would be surprised if Walker isn't appointed.

And if this isn't enough excitement, remember citizens are gathering signatures to put a measure on the ballot shrinking the Board of Supervisors from five to three members. It's going to get even more interesting.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com