WATERLOO -- It's been a relatively quiet campaign for the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors this fall.

But control of the Courthouse is up for grabs Tuesday when voters head to the polls to elect three board members for the next four years.

Democrats currently hold a 4-1 advantage on the board, but a GOP sweep this week could shift the balance.

Incumbent Democrats Tom Little and John Miller are looking to keep their seats for a second term, and they are joined on the Democratic slate by Michael Blackwell. Incumbent Republican Scott Jordan is also seeking another four years, with Randy Herod and Andy Mullinex joining him on the GOP ticket.

Board members Craig White and Frank Magsamen, both Democrats, have two years remaining on their terms and are not facing re-election this year.

Michael Blackwell

As someone who has worked with a number of community and services agencies since moving to Cedar Falls in 1995, Blackwell sees a need for county government to put more focus on the human element.

"People in the county talk about infrastructure a lot," Blackwell said. "When they do, they are really talking about things, not people. We need to see how we can help address the quality of life people have, in health or housing or other areas."

The 53-year-old director of multicultural education and adjunct assistant professor of philosophy and religion at University of Northern Iowa wants the Board of Supervisors to be "not only fiscally responsible, but socially responsible." And that should include have an open-door policy to hearing about the concerns people have.

"One of the reasons I ran in the first place was because over the past few years I've had some people involved in different organizations feeling that the Board of Supervisors were not receptive to them," Blackwell said. "There were some meetings in the community where people felt they were disrespected and not listened to.

"I just felt I might be able to assist the board in reaching out more," he added. "While I've been very involved in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls community, I'm very willing to reach out and listen to concerns people have throughout the county."

Blackwell said he believes it's important for county supervisors to take a stance and get involved in public issues, such as the LS Power coal-fired power plant, even if they aren't directly involved in voting on them.

Randy Herod

After making a career out of helping businesses resolve issues, Herod hopes to bring those skills to county government.

"It's what I did for most of my life; I was a problem fixer," said Herod, a semiretired business consultant. "I think we need a different perspective on the board, that of a problem solver."

The 67-year-old Waterloo resident is a former Libertarian Party chairman who has been active in a local neighborhood association. As he campaigns, Herod said he's seeing "greater and greater challenges for the community and apparently less and less resources to handle them."

"My main thing is fiscal responsibility," he said. "It's probably more important this year than ever before, and it ought to be. If Washington somehow makes a misstep and they drop an economic rotten egg on us, we're going to have to suck it up at the local level and deal with it."

Herod's other goals include improvements to rural roads so vital to the farming industry and revising land-use policies "so what happened with Monsanto doesn't happen again." Monsanto pulled plans for a seed corn operation south of Waterloo after county zoning board members recommended against it.

He also hopes to get the county more involved in economic development, particularly working together with the smaller communities.

"It has to do with developing a real vision for not just the county, but all nine incorporated communities together ï½ with the county developing a long-term vision. We're just a small county, we've got to find a way to work together."

Scott Jordan

Currently, the lone Republican on the board, Jordan is seeking to retain his seat for another four years. The 49-year-old rural Hudson resident and owner of Scott's Electric in Waterloo served previously on the Waterloo City Council for 10 years, from 1994 through 2003.

Jordan said teamwork in the county is critical.

"When the new board started off two years ago it was a little rocky, but we've formed a good partnership," he said. "Over the last 22 months, we've respected people and worked well as a team. I feel things are getting accomplished."

Jordan's other platform planks include lowering county property taxes, keeping spending within the adopted budget, continuing to improve rural roads and consolidating services with other local government bodies to lower costs.

"The way the costs keep growing, with gasoline and every aspect of county government, I think we've kept (tax increases) very minimal," he said. "We have to keep living within our means."

While Jordan is pleased with the county's aggressive plan to repair rural roads, he said the effort must remain a focus of the board.

"We need to keep fine-tuning things," he said. "I want to keep things on the fast track, working together and keeping up what we've started."

Tom Little

Little, 55, of Evansdale, believes his experience is an asset as the county moves ahead on a number of projects.

"It's the experience I have dealing with budgets, 11 years on the (Evansdale) City Council and now four budgets in the county," Little said. "I think the board's willingness to work with everybody is keyï½and I think people are feeling comfortable right now coming to the Board of Supervisors."

Little is a 34-year employee at John Deere Waterloo Works, a member of the United Auto Workers Local 838 and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

During his term on the board, Little said the county has pulled the Country View care center back under county control, which has boosted occupancy rates and helped control costs; worked to put the Youth Shelter on better financial footing; started to address overdue maintenance projects; and taken steps to increase road funding.

"The roads are going to be a challenging venture as we go on, trying to find alternative funding," he said. "That's going to be a challenge forever, but we do have a good start."

He also noted the county has experienced an economic development success, approving zoning for the Peregrine Financial Group headquarters north of Cedar Falls.

"Hopefully there will be more opportunities down the road to increase the tax base and take some of the pressure off the taxpayers," he said.

John Miller

Miller is seeking a second four-year term and hopes to capitalize on what he sees as a growing spirit of cooperation in the Cedar Valley.

"The teamwork and cooperation that's coming together within the county and in the community is really exciting to me," said Miller, 65, a retired farmer and former regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who lives in the rural area between Hudson and Cedar Falls. He also was an assistant to former U.S. Rep. Dave Nagle.

While some of that teamwork involves county departments and elected officials, Miller said the county is "working with renewed vigor with Waterloo and Cedar Falls" on cooperative ventures to share services and save money. That includes a recent decision to jointly purchase office supplies with the cities and new discussions with area schools.

"I think the county can take the lead on that," Miller said. "We're not trying to usurp anybody else's (authority), but we can step across some boundaries that maybe others can't."

The county is also working to incorporate a new 20-year futures planning document into its budgeting process this year.

Last year, Miller spearheaded a push to develop a plan to repair crumbling county roads and bridges, which had been falling behind the funding curve. That included holding a successful referendum to begin using the rural's share of a local-option sales tax to help fund the work.

"We put the plan together, we had the vote and we started executing," he said.

Andy Mullinex

As a small business owner, Mullinex believes he can bring a different perspective to the board.

"As a business owner, I've been involved in budgeting, budget planning and budget allocation with companies for a wide variety of market segments," said Mullinex, noting he will take the time to educate himself on all issues before casting a vote.

The 38-year-old Elk Run Heights resident and co-owner of Impact Marketing Technologies in Waterloo is making his first bid for public office, running on a platform that includes focusing on rural road repairs and public safety, economic development and support of local employers.

"I'm a local business advocate and I've been able to talk with local business owners," he said. "They have concerns about how the (county) bidding practice is handled and local preference for business. I want to make sure the interest of local business is fostered throughout the county."

Mullinex also supports having the county take a more active role in attracting new companies.

"The only way for us to be able to lower our taxes is to increase our tax base through economic development," he said. "The Board of Supervisors should form a strategic plan with other communities and organization so we can respond quickly to attract these big companies."

Mullinex said people in the rural areas he's talked to are concerned about road conditions and the need for better public safety.

"I have seen some proposed numbers for rural road improvements, which are a start and an exciting move forward," he said. "But maintenance is the key. Maintenance is cheaper than replacement."

Contact Tim Jamison

at (319) 291-1577 or

tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.