Julie Persons won the nomination at a special nomination conference on Saturday
During a special nominating convention held Saturday at Liberty High School in North Liberty, Johnson County Democrats nominated Julie Parsons as the Democratic candidate for Johnson County Auditor. Other candidates at the convention included Newman Abuissa, Shannon Patrick and Alex Stanton. (Megan Woolard/The Gazette)
NORTH LIBERTY – Swisher Mayor Julie Persons is the Democratic Party’s candidate for Johnson County Auditor.
Persons won the nomination at a special nominating convention held Saturday morning at Liberty High School in North Liberty. The convention was necessary after Travis Weipert resigned from his post as Johnson County Auditor and decided not to seek re-election due to health reasons.
Weipert, a certified public accountant since 2013, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary in June and sought re-election in the November 5 election.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors appointed Erin Shane, Johnson County Deputy Auditor, as interim auditor for the remainder of Weipert’s term.
There are currently no Republicans running for the office, which pays $120,000 a year.
The Auditor’s Office is responsible for administering local, state and federal elections and maintaining the county’s voter registration. It also maintains property records for tax purposes and handles accounts payable and payroll for the county government.
Four people were nominated at the congress, and the delegates present were able to vote on them on Saturday.
To win the party’s nomination, a candidate had to receive 57 votes, a majority of the 113 Democratic district delegates present at the convention. Two delegates left the convention early and did not vote.
People received 60 votes and the remaining votes were distributed among the three other candidates:
- Alex Stanton, poll technician in Johnson County, received 26 votes
- Shannon Patrick, manager of appointment management at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, received 21 votes
- Newman Abuissa, traffic engineer at Iowa DOT, received four votes
Persons, Swisher’s first female mayor, has been in office since January. She is the public relations director for the Johnson County Democrats and also works for Transamerica as a senior account executive.
“With nearly 20 years of professional leadership experience, I am ready to take on this role on day one,” Persons said at the nominations conference. “The Office of the Auditor General is a complex, multifaceted institution. It needs a leader who can effectively manage all of its departments and lead them through the coming years.”
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