Two Way Race For Supervisor

The filing deadline for the March 5 special election has just passed, and it's a two-way race. No independent candidates filed, so Democrat Terry Dahms and Republican John Etheredge will face off.

In the 2010 supervisor special, Jim Knapp, now better known for getting arrested at Hawkeye football games, filed as an independent and won 3% of the vote. (He also carried the homophobia ball for the Republicans in the candidate forums.)

Both candidates are making their second run for the Board. Dahms ran in the 2008 Democratic primary, and Etheredge ran as an independent in November.

Both candidates are also, despite Republican insistence, rural residents. According to current GOP logic, anyone with a rural Iowa City address like Dahms is considered a city dweller. Yet 41% of the county's rural voters, over 6,000, are in the Iowa City ZIP codes, almost twice as many as runner-up rural Solon. There's also a lot of high-CSR farm ground with a 52240 ZIP.

Early voting for the election starts next Wednesday at the auditor's office, so get there early if you want first voter bragging rights. Satellite sites start Feb. 25 with a schedule here. Auditor Travis Weipert makes one unfortunate note: "Our office contacted the Hy-Vee stores, but management does not wish to participate for this election. We thank Hy-Vee for its past support of satellite voting and hope we can return in the future."