CEDAR RAPIDS — Schools officials have turned hypervigilant about security in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders in Newtown, Conn., in December — except on election days when some schools double as polling places, says Joel Miller, Linn County auditor and commissioner of elections. Miller on Wednesday said he has asked the [...]
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“Parties find common ground at Statehouse” was the above-the-fold announcement in Friday’s Gazette. It’s not a great day for democracy when legislative cooperation on minor items merits a banner headline. Never mind that we’re still gridlocked on the big stuff like Medicaid expansion, property tax relief and education reform. Legislators seemed to be [...]
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Linn County Auditor Joel Miller is taking his dispute with the Linn County Board of Supervisors to the Iowa Court of Appeals. Miller notified the board on Monday that he intended to appeal a decision by the Linn County District Court, which in November sided with the supervisors against Miller about the scope of Miller’s [...]
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Linn County Auditor Joel Miller said his request for a judge to clarify his ruling against Miller’s challenge to county supervisors’ authority doesn’t mean he’ll appeal, but it preserves his options. “It’s a step that has to occur, otherwise you cannot appeal,” Miller said. “We’re just asking him to look at some things we maybe [...]
continue »CEDAR RAPIDS — Linn County supervisors appear ready to consider shifting management of county buildings from County Auditor Joel Miller’s office to the recent unsuccessful challenger for his job. “I think it is retribution against me and also against the employees who supported me,” Miller said Wednesday. “If they follow through on this, I think [...]
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Linn County Auditor Joel Miller isn’t ruling out an appeal of a judge’s ruling today that county supervisors have sole authority to audit county finances. “The voters re-elected me by the biggest popular vote of anyone on the ballot in a contested race,” Miller said this afternoon. “The voters want the county auditor to be [...]
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About 4,600 Linn County absentee ballots remain unreturned as election workers prepare the first-ever count before Election Day. “Which is too many,” County Auditor Joel Miller said of the number of unreturned ballots. “But it falls within our historical trending.” Through Monday afternoon, 44,648 ballots had been returned, about 800 in Monday’s mail. About 40 [...]
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The contest for president comes down to a handful of swing states, then down to hotly contested Iowa, then down to a handful of tight counties. And America waits. For a week. “They keep talking about a 2,000-vote margin for the presidential race across the state,” said Linn County Auditor Joel Miller. “Linn County could [...]
continue »Gazette Editorial Board – AUDITOR Joel Miller Joel Miller’s time in office since first being elected Linn County auditor in a special election in February 2007 certainly can’t be described as dutiful wallflower. Instead, Miller, a Democrat, has challenged the status quo on a number of issues over the years. While the county board of [...]
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MARION — The next four years, not the incumbent’s sometimes contentious current term, was the focus of last night’s forum with the candidates for Linn County auditor. Republican challenger Garth Fagerbakke raised Auditor Joel Miller’s legal and policy differences with county supervisors in his opening statement, prompting a warning from moderator Myrna Loehrlein of the [...]
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