Anderson draws on years in the board’s gallery in bid for supervisor seat
For more than five years, Shawna Anderson has watched the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors from the public seating. Now she is asking voters to move her to the other side of the room. Anderson is one of five candidates seeking three seats on the board in the Nov. 3 general election, along with Susan Miller, Jeff Jorgensen, Mark Shoemaker and Dennis Gunderson. She said her interest began during community town halls on how the county should spend its federal American Rescue Plan Act money, when board members did not attend the first two of three sessions. She began going to board meetings to read residents’ suggestions into the record during public comment and has attended nearly every meeting since, watching online when she cannot be there in person. “I think that good ideas can come from all sorts of sources,” Anderson said. Anderson, who works full time as a hair stylist, said listening to clients has been part of her work her entire career and has shaped her interest in public service.
Anderson said she opposes the use of eminent domain for private gain and pointed to proposed carbon dioxide pipelines as an example. “I don’t think you should force me to allow you to put those utilities on my land if it is not actually for the public good,” she said. She also said she would bring honesty, transparency and a willingness to listen to the board. Anderson said all five candidates agree the county needs to grow its population to broaden the tax base and lower taxes, though they differ on how to get there. If elected, she expects the pace of government to test her patience. “Things have to be done a certain way,” she said. “There’s a process and those wheels turn slowly. As frustrating as it is, there’s a reason behind that.”
Anderson said her favorite moment of the campaign came after a candidate forum held by the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce and The Daily Nonpareil about two weeks ago. Once the forum ended, candidates for the board and for the Iowa House, including Miller, Shoemaker and state Rep. Brent Siegrist, gathered in a circle and kept talking about what the county needs from the state. “Just engaging the way that I think people in government should engage,” she said. “It just felt really good to see that conversation happening in a peaceful, excited manner.”
In recent months, Anderson has met with each county department head to learn about staffing and needs, and she planned to meet with the sheriff in the campaign’s final week. She said she will spend the last weekend knocking on doors and the final Monday contacting voters who have not returned absentee ballots. She said she chose not to send mailers and printed her door hangers without a glossy coating so they could be composted or recycled. She also said she supports publicly funded elections, saying they would put candidates on equal financial footing and reduce campaign advertising. Win or lose, Anderson said, she will miss the conversations. “I’ve really enjoyed talking with people, listening to people and what it is that they have going on in their lives,” she said.
Editor’s note: Anderson’s full interview is available on Pottawattamie County Routes on the Loess Hills Media YouTube channel. All five supervisor candidates were invited to interview for the series. Interviews with Susan Miller and Mark Shoemaker are also available, and The CB Journal has published stories on both candidates. Jeff Jorgensen and Dennis Gunderson did not respond to the invitation.
