Excluded workers lobby mayor, get limited support

Around 40 members of advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz met with Washington Mayor Jaron Rosien and City Administrator Deanna McCusker at St. James Catholic Church Wednesday night.

The group has pushed local governments for one-time $1,400 direct payments to workers excluded from federal pandemic relief, paid for by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds distributed to cities and counties. While Rosien said he sympathized with their stories, he declined to endorse their proposal.

“I don’t think it works as $1,400 because it gets complicated,” Rosien said. “Exactly like this, it would require some adjustment. Who would be the staff that sorts through applications and affidavits of whether someone received a check? Address, location, the amount of work for staff, and how to sort through that … I think it’s hard, because we don’t have that much left.”

Rosien said he didn’t expect the policy to gain city council support.

“I want to support the community like the community supports Washington,” he said. “Support might not look like what you described tonight … I want to be honest that the five, I see some support, but I don’t know that it will fly or that it will be successful, but we can ask.”

The mayor cited that lack of council support as his reason not to endorse relief checks, emphasizing that he and McCusker did not have voting roles on the city council.

“I will present the request, and I will remain neutral and let them decide,” he said. “I support something that helps the people, support something that helps in the humanitarian category. I don’t see this having council support at all.”

Group members, however, pushed back.

“You’re not neutral on every issue that the city has, I want to know if you’re going to support us,” group member Jane Davis said. “I don’t want to know about council support, I want to know about yours.”

Iowa City Escucha Mi Voz Organizer David Goodner said he was disappointed in the mayor’s response during a follow-up meeting.

“I think he has a lot more power than he wanted to admit, he’s the mayor of the city,” Goodner said. “He can set the agenda, and when he says he wants something, the other councilors are going to listen. He wanted to pretend like he couldn’t do anything, but we know that he absolutely can.”

Goodner said the group would keep up pressure on public officials.

“If people think it’s a good idea, we can absolutely invite two more city councilors to this next week, and two more the next week, but we’re going to have to do this to all of them,” he said. “Tell them stories, demand that they do what we’re asking, and they may not say yes right away. We can’t give up, we have to keep pushing.”

Some in the group said they would shift their focus to the voting members of the city government, their city council representatives.

“What the mayor is saying, I think, is the five council members will make the decision,” group member Roger Farmer said. “So it’s very important for the next two to four weeks, for, I would suggest, you all to find out who your council member is, and talk to that person.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com