IOWA CITY — Johnson County voters will see incumbent Supervisors Lisa Green-Douglass and Rod Sullivan — but not Royceann Porter — on the Nov. 5 general election ballot after newcomer Mandi Remington joined them in primary election victories.
Green-Douglass, Sullivan and Remington beat out incumbent Porter and candidate Bob Conrad, a state trooper, in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for three seats up for election on the five-member board, according to unofficial results.
No Republicans or Libertarians have announced campaigns for the seats, but still could be nominated by convention until late August.
There were just under 9,000 ballots cast for primaries held in Johnson County, out of more than 110,000 registered voters, meaning the turnout was a little over 8 percent.
In the supervisors’ primary, where voters countywide could chose three candidates, Sullivan received the most with more than 4,200, followed by Green-Douglass with around 3,900 and Remington with just over 3,800 votes. Porter received about 2,900 and Conrad received just under 2,400.
Johnson County supervisors are paid about $90,000 a year and are elected to four-year terms.
Porter vows to continue advocacy
Porter, 58, of Iowa City, was first elected as a county supervisor in a special election in 2018. Her current term ends Dec. 31.
Outside of her service as a supervisor, Porter has been involved in roles including serving as vice chair of the National Association of Counties and co-founding the Black Voices Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization for the Iowa City area.
Porter previously told The Gazette her campaign issues included affordable housing, sustainability and accessible mental health care.
The results of Tuesday’s primary caught her off guard, she said, and she was especially disappointed with the low voter turnout.
Additionally, Porter said there has been a “smear campaign” against her since October following an incident in a Board of Supervisors’ meeting in which she and several audience members got into a yelling match.
“I don’t look at that as why I lost, but it was some dirty games played,” Porter said Wednesday. “...I’ll still be able to continue to help the people — that’s a reward for me.”
Porter said she plans to finish out her six months remaining on the board by continuing to advocate for her campaign issues. She said she will continue to be involved in the community after her term concludes.
“I can tell you it’s not the end,” Porter said. “I’ve advocated in the community for years, so I’m not done.”
The achievements Porter is most proud of during her time as a supervisor include changing the county’s namesake to Black scholar Lulu Merle Johnson, remodeling the county administrative building to be handicapped accessible and creating a community gun violence intervention program.
Conrad, 54, of Iowa City, is an Iowa State Patrol trooper and public resource officer. He does not have any experience as an elected official, but he has been elected to several union roles.
The issues Conrad supported in his campaign were affordable housing, public transportation, government transparency and outreach as well as sustainable funding avenues for county programs.
Conrad could not be reached for comment after the results were announced.
Primary winners plan for November election
Sullivan, 58, of Iowa City, has been a county supervisor for 20 years. Before that, he was a social worker.
Sullivan previously told The Gazette the main issues he wishes to address are mental health, affordable housing and climate change. Sullivan could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Green-Douglass, 65, of North Liberty, was elected to the board in 2016 in a special election. That same year, she was elected to serve a full four-year term and was reelected again in 2020.
Green-Douglass previously told The Gazette her priorities as a supervisor are keeping up with the county’s growing population, improved transportation, creating jobs and affordable housing.
After seeing the unofficial results Tuesday night, Green-Douglass said she felt excited and grateful to voters for choosing her.
Green-Douglass said she was surprised by Remington’s defeat of Porter because Remington previously had been defeated in an Iowa City Council election. Green-Douglass noted that Porter has done an “excellent job” in her role as supervisor.
Remington, 41, of Iowa City, is a medical record and guardianship clerk for the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics Center for Disabilities and Development. While she has not served in any elected positions, she has served as a volunteer on city and university committees.
Remington is also the founder and director of the Corridor Community Action Network, an online resource that helps connect community members with and promotes local nonprofits and supportive services.
The issues Remington has campaigned on are affordable housing, food insecurity, civil rights and public safety.
Tuesday’s primary results left Remington feeling blessed, thankful of the support of the community, she said.
Remington said she attributes her success in the primary to her grassroots campaigning strategy, adding she did not have any paid staff or consultants that assisted with her campaigning nor did she collaborate with any other candidates running in the election.
“I’ve shown up for the community, and the community has been showing up for me with this campaign,” Remington said. “So I’m just going to keep doing that.”
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