Need some diversity, Iowa City?

Need some diversity, Iowa City?

Gregg Hennigan puts in print a fact others have noticed:

The 10 people running for City Council in Iowa City are diverse in their opinions but not in their backgrounds — nearly all of them are white and most are men.

That is particularly striking when considering the three members who will leave the council later this year. Ross Wilburn, a black man, Regenia Bailey, a woman, and Mike Wright, who is gay, all chose not to seek re-election...

And the one woman in the race, Michelle Payne, is also the one registered Republican in the race. Just two years ago, we had a female majority council (Bailey, Champion, Correia, Vanderhoef).

But here's the REAL lack of diversity on the city council: it’s been 32 years since a student was elected to the city council (David Perret in 1979). If we were a city of 65,000 with 25,000 African Americans or Hispanics who had been unrepresented in city government for 30+ years, we’d be in federal court for a Voting Rights Act lawsuit.