Linn County supervisors set term lengths for new three-member board

CEDAR RAPIDS — Term lengths have been set for the first election for a three-member Linn County Board of Supervisors.

During a blind drawing, 6th Judicial District Judge Lars Anderson randomly selected which two districts would have a four-year term limit and which remaining district would only receive a two-year term.

In the drawing, District 1 and District 2 were selected for four-year terms and District 3 will see a two-year term. The District 3 vote in 2020 will be for a standard four-year term. The end result will maintain the county’s staggered term limits for supervisors after the 2018 election.

District 1 is home to Supervisors Stacey Walker and Jim Houser and District 2 includes Supervisor Ben Rogers and current County Auditor and potential supervisor candidate Joel Miller. Supervisors Brent Oleson and John Harris reside in District 3.

Following a 2016 public vote to reduce the size of the board from five members to three, the county last year embarked on a redistricting process to remap the county into three districts.

The new plan divides Cedar Rapids, with the southern half making up one district and the northern half grouped with Hiawatha and Robins into a second district. It places Marion in a third district with the rest of the outlying rural areas and townships of Linn County.

Voters will elect a board representative within their respective districts.

The plan was initially proposed last year by a temporary redistricting committee and forwarded in November on to the state by the Linn County Board of Supervisors. It received mixed reviews at both bodies, with the committee approving it with a 3-2 vote and Supervisors passing it with a 4-1 vote.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate approved the county’s redistricting plan last month.

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