Four Republicans vie for two spots in supervisor primary race

FAIRFIELD – Republicans in Jefferson County will have a tough decision to make when they go to the polls on Tuesday, June 4 to narrow down the choices in the county supervisors’ race.

Four Republicans are vying to be on the ballot in November, but only two can represent the party. That means voters with a Republican ballot will select their top two candidates among these four contenders: Incumbent Dee Sandquist and challengers Joe Ledger, Tom Drish and Julie Greeson. Democrat Susie Drish is running unopposed for her party’s nomination. No other county race has a contested primary.

The candidates spoke with The Union about their background and vision for county government:

DEE SANDQUIST

Dee Sandquist is from the area, but moved away and pursued a career where she managed a 400-bed hospital in Vancouver, Washington. In 2008, she moved back to the county to help her parents manage the family farm.

Sandquist is in her second term as a county supervisor after she was first elected in 2016. She wants to build on the successes the county has seen during her tenure.

“Some of those things are improved roads and bridges, and starting a county-run ambulance,” she said. “We have increased transparency by holding our supervisor meetings on Zoom and improving the county website.”

Sandquist said the recently passed Iowa House File 718 requires all counties to reduce their general levy to $3.50 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, and that is forcing the supervisors to make tough choices about the budget.

“We’re in good shape because we’ve always been fiscally responsible,” Sandquist said. “There will be difficult decisions to make, and my experience with the budget will be important.”

JOE LEDGER

Joe Ledger was born and raised in Jefferson County, and farmed here almost 50 years before he retired a few years ago. Ledger said he’s thought about running for supervisor for a few years, and now he has enough time to dedicate to the job fulltime.

Ledger said he has been regularly attending supervisor meetings for the past 1.5 years, so he’s not going to “walk into it blind.” He said that, if he is elected, there are a few changes he’d like to make.

“The ambulance, I don’t think it’s run as smoothly as it should be. Some things need fine-tuning,” he said. “I watched them start up the county ambulance last fall, and I’m not happy with the way some things are going.”

Ledger said another issue he might have to tackle is the prospect of a wind farm in the northwest corner of the county near Packwood.

“I’ve been out around talking to people, and I’ve not found anyone who is in favor of wind turbines up there,” he said. “I think I’ll do what I can to keep them out of the county.”

Ledger has been active with Jefferson County Farm Bureau for 25 years, where he’s been involved with legislation and leadership positions. He sits on boards such as the county board of health and civil service commission, as well as the Maasdam Barns committee that does the Barnyard Bash and the City of Fairfield’s Resilient Action Committee. He recently completed the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fairfield class, and in 2021 he received the chamber’s Agricultural Award.

TOM DRISH

Tom Drish is a lifelong resident of Jefferson County. He served on the Batavia City Council for 10 years, and he’s in his fifth term as the town’s mayor for a total of 20 years serving Batavia. He’s served five years on the Cardinal school board, plus committees such as being chair of the Emergency Management Commission for the last two years, and the conference board that sets the assessor’s budget each year.

Drish is married with two daughters and another child on the way. He’s running for supervisor because he’s ready to take the next step in his service to the community. He said he doesn’t have an agenda, though there are a few changes he’d like to see.

“We need more transparency,” he said. “A lot of meetings happen without a lot of the public’s knowledge of what’s going on. The way we spent the ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds in the county, I believe we didn’t use them to their potential.”

Drish said he hopes common sense wins out at the end of the day. His main goal is to leave the county in a better place than it was when he started.

Drish has been attending the supervisors’ meetings regularly for the last three or four years because he wants to know what they’re doing and because he can give them advice about issues Batavia has gone through.

“In Batavia, we’ve done a lot toward nuisance abatement, so I give my input about what works so they can apply it to issues they’re having in the county,” he said.

JULIE GREESON

Julie Greeson has lived here since 1989. She is married with two children and seven grandchildren. She has served as a member of the Jefferson County Health Center Board of Directors since 2011, and has served on the Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency.

She ran the store Flirt on the Fairfield square for 10 years until closing it in November 2022 so she could “spend a little time to decompress.” Before operating Flirt, Greeson worked for Harper Brush for 12 years as Assistant National Sales Manager and Trade Show Coordinator.

“I have experience with budgets,” she said. “I have no problem making decisions and owning my decisions.”

Greeson said she had been thinking about joining the board of supervisors for the past five years, but didn’t feel the time was right … until now.

“I think it’s the perfect time to continue serving Jefferson County,” she said.

Greeson said she believes improving transparency at the local level is something that can be improved on, and she’d like the county to “actually have a budget that is manageable and balanced.”

“I think things at the county-level change on a daily basis, and you’ve got to be fluid,” she said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com