Petition Drive Underway To Get 5-member County Board Proposition On Ballot

Signatures are being gathered on petitions across Mills County in an effort to place a proposition on the November general election ballot that would allow residents to decide if they’d like to increase the number of county supervisors from three to five.

The petition drive is being spearheaded by members of the Mills County Matters Working Group. Chris Weide, a spokesperson for the group, said the purpose of the petition is not to increase the size of the board of supervisors from three to five members, but to get the issue on the ballot so citizens can decide if it’s a move they’d like the county to make.

“You’re not signing the petition to put five on there (board of supervisors), you’re signing to allow this to go on the ballot so people can choose,” he said. “I think people should be allowed to make the choice. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The petition drive was necessitated after the board of supervisors voted down a resolution to put the 3-to-5 initiative on the November ballot. The vote was 2-1 against the resolution with Richard Crouch and Lonnie Mayberry voting “No” and Jack Sayers casting the lone “Yes” vote.

Crouch said he’s heard from residents of eastern Mills County who believe having a five-member board will give too much power to Glenwood.

“The first thing to come out from people in the eastern part of the county,” he said, is ‘Why hell, there goes Mills County. It’s going to be controlled by Glenwood. They’ve got all the votes now, my vote out here doesn’t mean anything.’”
Mayberry said he previously supported increasing the number of county supervisors from three to five, but has changed his opinion.

“I do believe in less government – I am a conservative,” he said. “I’ve also seen the state take more and more of our responsibilities away – workforce development we don’t have anymore, we don’t have oversight on mental health, our judicial districts, among others.”
Instead of paying for the salary and benefits of two additional supervisors, Mayberry said he would rather see the county spend the dollars in other areas.

“If we could find $150,000 or $175,000, I would like to see us spend it on a deputy or take some of that money and put it with Jacob (county engineer Jacob Ferro),” he said. “There’s 80-20 or 50-50 matches for road projects. I think that money would be better spent improving our public services and our infrastructure.”

Weide said Mayberry’s vote was particularly disappointing because when running for re-election in 2024, Mayberry publicly supported increasing the number of supervisors from three to five.

“Some people voted for him on that issue,” Weide said. “Then, after getting elected, he changes his view.”

Sayers noted he’s not personally a member of the Mills County Matters Working group, but supports the group’s efforts to put the issue on the ballot and will assist with gathering petition signatures.

Sayers said he voted “Yes” on the resolution last week because he believes citizens should have a vote on the matter.

“My belief is that the community has been discussing moving from three to five for years now. The board of supervisors had the opportunity  to put it on the ballot so voters in Mills County could start having a real discussion about it before the general election,” he said. “By causing it to go on a petition, not only are we creating an extra hurdle to a ballot proposition that 77% of Mills County voters say they’ll vote for, we’re also providing one less month for voters to actually debate and discuss it with each other.”

The petitioners have until Aug. 13 to gather at least 826 signatures to get the proposition on the November general election ballot.

Weide said at least a dozen petitioners have been going door-knocking and the response has been positive from residents who answer the door.

“I would say 80% of the people were well in tune to the issue –  they had read things in the paper or on social media – and they knew all about it, I didn’t really have to explain very much,” Weide said. “Literally, as I walked up one driveway, somebody said,

‘Are you here about the supervisor thing?’ When I said yes,  ‘They said, give that thing to me, I’ll sign it.’”

According to the Iowa Code, if enough signatures are gathered to get the proposition on the ballot and a majority of votes are cast in favor of the increase, the number of supervisors would not change from three to five until January 2029. The two additional seats would be on the ballot in 2028, one for a two-year term and one for a four-year term to ensure seats on the board come up for election on a staggered basis.

Weide said petitions are available for signing at the following locations: in Glenwood at the Bloom Senior Center, Glenwood State Bank, Glenwood Public Library and Vine Street Bakery; Lake Ohana Market near Mineola; in Malvern at Club 321, The Salty Heifer and Classic Cafe; and the Henderson Fire Station.