Dallas County will vote on whether to add two more members to the Board of Supervisors
On Nov. 5, Dallas County voters will be able to vote on whether to increase the number of members on the county’s Board of Supervisors from three to five after the board voted unanimously Wednesday night to put the question on the ballot.
Dallas County mayors have led the effort to get the Board of Supervisors to put the proposal on a ballot. The mayors submitted a petition Tuesday that they said has more than enough signatures to meet the requirement that it be signed by at least 4,487 voters, representing 10% of the voters who voted for president or governor in the county in the last general election.
The resolution passed by the board noted that 5,004 signatures had been collected – a sufficient number, although Supervisor Kim Chapman noted that 160 of them had been disqualified.
Board Chairman Brad Golightly praised the efforts behind the petition, which was supported by 14 county mayors, saying that “for the most part, things were complete and appropriate.”
Golightly represents District I, which includes Perry, Bouton, Woodward, Granger, Minburn, Grimes, Urbandale and Clive. Supervisor Mark Hanson represents District II, which includes Dallas Center, Adel and Waukee. Chapman represents District III, which includes Linden, Redfield, Dexter, De Soto, Van Meter and West Des Moines.
If voters approve an expansion of the board’s seats, each of the supervisors will represent a specific, newly drawn district, at least for the time being, but will be elected by all voters in the county as before. Waukee Mayor Courtney Clarke, who led the petition signature collection, said after Wednesday’s meeting that while mayors would prefer district elections, voters would have to approve that change in another election.
The mayors of Adel, Bouton, Clive, Dallas Center, De Soto, Granger, Minburn, Perry, Redfield, Urbandale, Van Meter, West Des Moines and Woodward, as well as Clarke, had previously signed a letter dated May 21 urging the board to take action by June 11 to bring the board expansion to a vote.
“We believe that given the complexity of a growing county, two additional supervisors would provide numerous benefits,” the mayors wrote.
According to their letter, these benefits would include:
- A lower resident-per-caregiver ratio results in a fairer distribution of workload and allows for “more efficient monitoring and delivery of services by each caregiver.”
- Easier compliance with Iowa’s open meetings law. With a three-member board, “there could be an opportunity for two members to communicate and make decisions independently of public meetings,” and expanding membership would promote transparency by reducing the likelihood of such nonpublic communication, according to talking points provided by Clarke.
- Broader representation of diverse perspectives in Iowa’s fastest-growing county. “As growth in Dallas County continues to be diverse in many communities, we believe additional perspectives through additional oversight positions will greatly contribute to better decision-making,” the mayors wrote.
Mayor of Waukee: May letter requesting expansion of the board remained unanswered
Clarke said the May letter was intended to give the panel a chance to act on its own initiative before petition organizers begin collecting signatures. However, she told the Des Moines Register she has not heard from the panel since the letter was delivered.
Supervisor Mark Hanson said at Wednesday’s meeting that when the issue of expanding board seats came up about a decade ago, the board agreed not to put the issue to a vote unless there was evidence that voters supported the change.
Hanson said the petition supervisors received Tuesday was the result of a bipartisan effort. “There are a lot of my friends and neighbors on these petition sheets who know me, and I’ve talked to some of them. I believe in democracy and this is a legal way to get this on the ballot.”
Golightly told the Register after the meeting that, like Hanson, he wants to ensure that efforts to increase the number of seats on the board come from the people.
Clarke said efforts for the letter and petition began after mayors resumed regular meetings earlier this year.
“We want to make sure that there is input from across the country on what is happening in the country,” she said.
The mayors pointed out that this year is the right time to act because the next general election in November will be the basis for future efforts. Since it is a presidential election, voter turnout will likely be higher, requiring more signatures, they said.
Clarke said she did not have an ideal district plan in mind for a five-seat board.
“Our goal is to make sure that each piece is representative, no matter what it looks like,” she said.
Under state law, redistricting would be conducted by a redistricting commission based on population and would require approval by the Iowa Secretary of State.
Dallas is Iowa’s sixth-largest county. Six of the other counties, including Polk, have five-member boards. Three other counties, including Linn, the state’s second-largest county, have three-member boards.
Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at [email protected] or X at @pslifeisabeauty.
