Linn County has received 17 applications from candidates to fill the upcoming District 2 Board of Supervisor vacancy, county officials said Monday.
Applications for the vacancy were due March 23.
The vacancy is occurring due to the resignation of Linn County supervisor Ben Rogers, who announced Feb. 17 he is leaving the board for a position with UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Foundation, effective April 1.
Per Iowa code, a committee of county officers, including county auditor Todd Taylor, county recorder Carolyn Siebrecht and county treasurer Brent Oleson, were tasked with deciding whether to appoint a replacement for Mr. Rogers or to hold a special election.
During a public meeting March 13, the committee voted to fill the Linn County supervisors board vacancy by appointment, indicating they did not receive a valid petition meeting the Iowa code requirements from electors in District 2 to trigger a special election.
The following is a list of applicants who met the application deadline (in alphabetical order):
- Anne Harris Carter, health equity program manager for Linn County Public Health
- Brandon Eales, president and owner of Benchmark Electric in Marion
- Alvin Ehler of Cedar Rapids
- Jennifer Fishwild, an instructional coach and teacher in the Cedar Rapids Community School District
- Kris Gulick, a local CPA and former Cedar Rapids City Council member
- Margaret Jessen of Cedar Rapids
- Stephanie King, president and founder of Stephanie King Consulting of Cedar Rapids
- Evan Langston, a senior engineering project assistant at Raytheon Technologies in Cedar Rapids
- John Markham of Cedar Rapids
- Joan McCalmant, former Linn County recorder
- Dennis McNamara, a workforce advisor for IowaWORKS in Cedar Rapids
- Corey Miller, a help desk manager at Folience in Cedar Rapids
- Wifag Mohammed, a materials handler at FedEx in Cedar Rapids
- Tomas Podzimek, president at Benchmark Construction Services and former Cedar Rapids City Council member
- Sami Scheetz, a union organizer and District 78 representative in the Iowa Legislature
- Andrew Whiting, director of community outreach and development at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
- Tremaine Woods, a Cedar Rapids native and social justice activist
Mr. Taylor, Ms. Siebrecht and Mr. Oleson will meet March 26 at 1:30 p.m. at the Linn County Public Service Center to discuss applications received and the next steps in the process.
