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Residents push to add two supervisors; some speakers urge clarity on districting
Summary
Residents at the July 7 Mills County meeting described a petition campaign to put a five‑supervisor option on the ballot; speakers urged that any ballot question clearly state whether supervisors would be elected at large or by district.
A public petition to place a five‑supervisor option on the ballot drew attention during public comment at the Mills County Board of Supervisors meeting on July 7.
Chris Whitey told the board he spent about five hours knocking on roughly 90 doors and reported about 35 responses, of which five were negative. He listed locations where petition forms are available, including senior centers, libraries and local stores. “Only 5 were negative,” Whitey said, describing what he characterized as a favorable response among those contacted.
Henry Clark, who also spoke at length, said he opposes increasing the board from three to five without a clear plan for districting and compensation. Clark said voters should not be asked to choose “5 lollipops or 3” without specifics on how seats and districts would be set. “Before you ask me whether you want 5 or 3, it should be a lot more defined,” he said, urging that any initial ballot question focus only on whether to expand to five at‑large seats and that districting be decided later by a separate process.
Board members and others noted legal constraints on what can appear on an initial petition and pointed out that districting generally requires a separate special election. The chair said the board would make agenda and process details available and noted the petitioners could explain intentions to voters when gathering signatures.
No formal board action was taken on the petition at the meeting; public comment focused on process, districting concerns and the locations where residents can sign petitions.
