Swisher, a small Johnson County town with just over 900 residents, is once again without a mayor after Julie Persons resigned in mid-November to become Johnson County Auditor.

Persons, who had served as mayor for less than a year, was appointed in 2023 after the town’s longtime mayor chose not to seek reelection and no one else stepped forward to run.

She secured the county auditor nomination at an August convention and had her last day as mayor at the beginning of November before stepping into the auditor role full-time after the general election.

Now, with the mayor’s office vacant, Swisher City Council member Curt Cline maintains that the issue isn’t a lack of pride or commitment from the community.

“A lot of the people are just so busy right now, you know, trying to make ends meet, and raising kids and everything else,” Cline said.

Cline noted that the College Community School District draws many young families to Swisher, and parents with young children are often unwilling to sacrifice family time to serve in city government. He said this was one reason he waited until last year to pursue his seat on the city council despite living in Swisher for his entire life.

“I didn’t take this [position] until my kids are older and raised,” Cline said. “It’s hard to do for the younger generation when times are so tough.”

Now on the city council, Cline emphasized the significant time commitment of serving in local government is paired with pay too modest to appeal to most Swisher residents.

“Most of the city, most of this town, is blue-collar workers,” Cline said.

Former Mayor Persons shared a similar perspective, explaining that she balanced her role as mayor alongside a full-time job at TransAmerica, using her lunch breaks and accrued vacation days to handle mayoral duties.

“Not everybody has schedules where they’re available to have that type of flexibility,” Persons said.

Persons said serving as mayor required 10 to 20 hours of work per week, yet the pay amounted to just $45 per council meeting and $900 every six months.

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“You’re doing it because you like it, not because you need the income,” Persons said.

Currently, the position of mayor pro tem is held by longtime Swisher City Council member Mike Stagg, with the mayoral position set to appear on the ballot again next November.

“I don’t know if the residents notice a large change,” Persons said regarding the vacancy of the mayoral position. “Just because a lot of residents don’t notice what the government is doing.”

While many of the town’s daily operations are effectively managed by the city clerk and council members, Persons pointed out that some decisions require a mayor’s authority and are better handled outside of city council meetings.

Jon Green, a Johnson County Supervisor and former mayor of Lone Tree, another small town in the county, echoed the importance of the mayor’s role.

“If you have a competent clerk in place, they can do a lot of that work,” Green said of basic city management. “But you need political leadership to direct the clerk on what the direction of policy needs to be.”

Green also said the job can strain personal relationships, as mayors sometimes face the challenge of making unpopular decisions. But, despite the difficulties, he reflected positively on his experience as Lone Tree’s mayor and encouraged Swisher residents to consider taking on the role.

“Having been in that seat, I understand some of their challenges and whatnot,” Green said. “But it’s one dimension of public service, and I hope that somebody steps up pretty quickly in Swisher because it is a great opportunity to serve your neighbors.”