In an unprecedented Johnson County Board of Supervisors election, Lisa Green-Douglass, Jon Green, Sue Dvorsky, V Fixmer-Oraiz, and Mandi Remington all won the Democratic nomination for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors district seats in the June 2 primary elections. Greg Erceg, Phil Hemingway, and Jennie Wunderlich secured the Republican nomination.

In past elections, Johnson County Supervisors were elected at-large, meaning anyone living in Johnson County could vote for all open seats on the board.

However, last April, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 75 into law, requiring the three counties that host regent universities to change the way they elect supervisors, electing them by district rather than at-large.

Now, county residents will vote only for the board seat that corresponds to their district. District One includes most of North Liberty, District Two includes parts of Iowa City and Solon, District Three includes parts of Coralville and Tiffin, District Four includes parts of Iowa City, and District Five includes parts of south and west Iowa City.

When they were released, the new districts placed four of the five sitting supervisors in the same two districts, with Supervisors Jon Green and Mandi Remington sitting in District Two and Supervisors Rod Sullivan and V Fixmer-Oraiz in District Four.

Prior to the primary elections, Remington moved to District Five, where she faced off with newcomer and Nighttime Mayor Joe Reilly, who lost.

The districts created new challenges for the sitting board members and community members from all three affected counties, with a lawsuit against Senate File 75 filed shortly after the bill became law.

James Larew, the Iowa City attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that Senate File 75 directly affects the constitutional rights of voters in each of the three counties.

“It diminishes the strength of their vote when compared to the strength of the voters in all of the other 96 counties,” Larew said.

Sue Dvorsky, a newcomer candidate in District Three who served as the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, also spoke about the law, calling it “unprecedented”.

“There was never a time when you could just make a law for one school district or one county. So those times, clearly, are in our rear view,” she said.

Apart from Johnson County, which hosts the University of Iowa, the other two affected counties are Story County, which hosts Iowa State University, and Black Hawk County, which hosts the University of Northern Iowa.

Despite the lawsuit and concern from potential and sitting supervisors, all five board seats were elected in today’s primaries using the districting system.

Green-Douglass, Erceg secure District One

Green-Douglass, an incumbent, won the democratic nomination for the District One seat, which includes most of North Liberty, in the June 2 primary. Green-Douglass was elected to the board in January 2016 and has been reelected three times. Her republican counterpart, newcomer Greg Erceg, won the republican nomination in the district.

In an interview with The Daily Iowan, Green-Douglass said she is excited to work with the board again, specifically to make housing in Johnson County more affordable and to support public safety.

“We’ve got so many things that are on our roadmap. We’re finishing up a strategic plan, and that will actually be like a roadmap for us moving forward,” Green-Douglass said.

Green-Douglass also said that she and her opponent, David Woodruff, a newcomer to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors and public office as a whole, spoke after the results were announced.

“He was very kind and offered me any help that I might need between now and November,” Green-Douglass said, “Then we both patted ourselves on the back for running a positive campaign.”

Green holds Democratic nomination in District Two, newcomer Hemingway wins Republican

Green, incumbent and current board chair, won the Democratic nomination for the District Two seat over his opponents Jessica Andino and Janet Godwin. Newcomer Phil Hemingway won the republican nomination in the district after running unopposed.

Green, who served as mayor of Lone Tree from 2018 to 2019, spoke about the districts at his watch party held at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City.

“It sucks because the five incumbent supervisors, three of whom should be serving two more years, have won the support of the 165,000 residents of this county, and now that’s all been washed away,” he said.

After the final results came in, Green said there was still a lot of work left to do, but he was happy with the level of continuity the board would have moving forward.

“I wanted to run a campaign that was focused on the issues and on doing the job, and I feel like the results indicate that,” he said. “I’m deeply appreciative of everyone who ran for office because this is a big time of transition.”

Newcomers Dvorsky, Wunderlich win nominations in District Three

Dvorsky, a newcomer, won the Democratic nomination for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors District Three seat after running unopposed. Dvorsky, who served as the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, called for unity following the primaries. Jennie Wunderlich, a newcomer, secured the republican nomination in the district.

“Johnson County occupies a really important role in Democratic politics in Iowa,” she said. “This has been a fractious primary, and there’s going to need to be some healing.”

Dvorsky said the board would need to work together after the election to keep the county running.

“The county cannot just stop functioning for six months until we figure out what the next group is going to look like,” she said. “And three of these seats have Republican challengers, and I don’t think we can take that for granted.”

Fixmer-Oraiz defeats incumbent Rod Sullivan for Democratic nomination in District Four

Fixmer-Oraiz won the democratic nomination for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors District Four seat, beating out their opponent and fellow board member Rod Sullivan. District Four contains parts of Iowa City.

After the results came in, Fixmer-Oraiz said they were honored and privileged to serve on the board and sent their congratulations to Sullivan.

“Now, of course, the real work begins here in Johnson County. I am determined to deliver on my campaign commitments,” they said. “It was always about our shared vision for our community, for our county, and I’m grateful for you all for believing in that vision and me.”

Green-Douglass extended her congratulations to Sullivan and thanked him for all the work he had done during his time on the board.

“He has done so much for the county in the years that he’s been on the board,” she said. “He’s your positive force. He’s really got a lot of energy, good ideas, and is willing to do the work.”

Remington beats out Reilly in District Five

Remington won the Democratic nomination for the District Five seat against her competitor, Iowa City Nighttime Mayor Joe Reilly. Remington, who was originally in District Two and moved to District Five, which covers parts of south and west Iowa City, said the move was ideal for her and her family.

“In order to really represent the area that I’ve spent most of my life living in, I needed to move somewhere on the other side of Sycamore [mall], and that’s also the area that I was already intending to, at some point, buy a house in, so it just kind of sped up the process for us a little bit,” Remington said.

After the results came in, Remington said she was thankful to her campaign team and was excited to move forward on the board.

“Johnson County has made it loud and clear what kind of leadership they want moving forward over the next couple of years, and we’re gonna make sure to bring that to them,” she said.