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Teamster Organizer Porter Wins Iowa Supervisor Election
Teamster organizer Royceann Porter was elected last night to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in Johnson County, Iowa. She defeated Republican Phil Hemingway by a double-digit margin in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Supervisor Kurt Friese, who died in October.
Porter thanked her supporters in a post to her campaign’s Facebook page.
“Thank you, Johnson County,” Porter said. “We did this together! I will continue the work that Kurt Friese started. My thoughts are with his family tonight. You have elected me to represent all of Johnson County. I am ready to work hard for you.”
Porter will be the first African-American to serve on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. She ran on a progressive platform that emphasized diversity, inclusivity, expanding access to public transportation and addressing the issues facing working families in Johnson County.
Prior to being a union organizer Porter was a community advocate in Johnson County for more than twenty years. She received a number of endorsements from labor unions, progressive activists and elected officials. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) took notice of Porter’s grassroots campaign and shot a video for her where he gave a full-throated endorsement.
“Royceann Porter is an extraordinary person who inspires me,” Booker said. “She is about Johnson County. She is about the people. Help her get elected to this critical post.”