Johnson County Has a "Retaliatory Culture" Per Phil Hemingway

Republican Phil Hemingway, who is running to be a Johnson County Supervisor, alleged during the Johnson County Supervisor debate 10/15/18 that Johnson County has a "retaliatory culture." He claimed that Johnson County employees are fearful of complaining about their working conditions.

A reliable source, who shall remain nameless because he wasn't speaking on the record, said that an attorney told Johnson County Supervisors that they had to vote unanimously to uphold the firing of a female county employee or they'd be sued. My source laughed and said they were sued anyway. He faulted Kurt Friese for recusing himself.

"I'd fire him [the woman's supervisor] anyway for other reasons," the source said. According to him, the woman's supervisor waves his hands around and yells. My source explained, "You don't actually have to touch someone to assault them."

That was news to me. I did find the supervisor's conduct as described more than a little intimidating.

The trouble with women's rights, former Senator John McCain (R-AZ) once mumbled to a reporter, is that there are "too many lawsuits." Sen. McCain was referring to his absence during a U.S. Senate vote on equal pay for equal work. He said he would have voted no if he'd been there. John McCain could have been a great man, but he wasn't. He was great in some ways but sadly lacking in understanding equal rights.

I'll give Phil credit for standing up for Stephanie Van Housen, the homeless liaison who was fired by Supt. Steve Murley for insubordination. (She reported the district's disproportionate use of seclusion rooms for minority and homeless children outside the chain of command.) The Iowa City Community School District certainly had or still has a retaliatory culture.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That goes for both political parties.