The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Rettig, Carberry take supervisor seats

The only Republican to serve on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in 58 years lost his seat in the midterm election on Tuesday.

Supervisor incumbents Janelle Rettig and John Etheredge ran against Mike Carberry for the two open seats — and the two Democrats, Rettig and Carberry, came out victorious.

This outcome will change the makeup to all-Democrat, after only 20 months with a Republican member.

Rettig will serve on the board for her sixth year, and Carberry will embark on his first term.

“This is a job I’ve been working towards for 15 years,” Carberry said. “I’m really glad the campaign is over, and I’m looking forward to getting to work.”

Carberry said that when he takes his spot, he will push more sustainable legislation, because after working in the field for nearly 17 years, he thinks it is a huge issue that is important to the county.

He said he has been involved in progressive politics for his entire life, and issues such as sustainable growth and renewable energy are important to Johnson County.

“Johnson County is a great county to represent, and I think I’m a perfect fit,” Carberry said.

Rettig said she is pleased about the increased turnout in Johnson County for this midterm election, and said it is nice to see people participating in the process.

“I’m happy for my support but concerned about the direction we’re heading both state and nationally,” Rettig said.

Rettig said she is thankful there will still be a woman on the board to represent women, which make up 52 percent of the county’s population.

She said it is highly important to the people of Johnson County that their elected officials are representative of the population, and she is glad the election results didn’t reveal an all-male board.

After winning a special election in 2013, Etheredge served as the only Republican member of the board, but he didn’t think the supervisors were too focused on partisan issues.

“There isn’t partisanship in many local issues,” he said.

Disappointed with the loss, Etheredge said his next steps are to make sure all the projects he personally worked on for the county wrap up the way they need to.

“I need to make sure everything I was planning to get to legislature this session continues,” he said. “I still have a lot of work to do in the county.”

He said he is going to have to balance looking for a job with serving Johnson County to the best of his ability for the remainder of his term.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure serving the people of Johnson County,” Etheredge said.

Supervisor Rod Sullivan said Carberry has been “hanging around and studying” the board for a couple years now, so he is really up to date on the issues.

“I think he’ll be able to hit the ground running once he takes office,” he said.

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