CORNING — As the Nov. 8 general election looms near, local elections are also on the horizon. In Adams County, two vie for the position of Adams County sheriff, while the two running for Adams County Board of Supervisors and one running for auditor are uncontested.
Johannes
Adams County Sheriff Alan Johannes has been sheriff since 2011, and is running for his second full term.
“I enjoy helping people,” Johannes said.
Johannes, 51, of Bridgewater graduated in 1984 from Corning High School before going into the U.S. Army the following year. After a four-year stint in the military, he worked several factory and farming jobs before breaking into the law enforcement field.
In 2003, Johannes became a police officer for Corning Police Department. For two years, he served the town of Corning and in 2005 was hired as a sheriff’s deputy for Adams County Sheriff’s Office under the former sheriff, Bill Lyddon.
In 2011, Lyddon retired and appointed Johannes, who completed Lyddon’s term.
“I felt I was the best one for the job,” Johannes said.
Johannes then ran uncontested for sheriff in the 2012 general election and won. Since then, he’s attempted to get the department to be more involved in the community.
“We’ve tried to be involved in the schools more than we used to be, with our kids, to make sure we’re there for them. We’ve tried to make sure the relations between the sheriff’s office and the people are good, and the people are treated with respect,” Johannes said. “We have great people in the community. I want to make sure we’re there for them because that’s why we’re here.”
As sheriff, Johannes has also transitioned to mobile citations for the deputies and upgraded all patrol vehicles and equipment the deputies use in their vehicles. He plans to upgrade their weapons by getting new rifles for the officers in the future.
“I think the years of experience, knowing the county like I know it and knowing the people makes me the best choice,” Johannes said. “I would like to be the sheriff for the next four years to be there for the people. I want the people of the community to continue to be treated with respect.”
Lillie
Running against Johannes is Bob Lillie of Corning.
Lillie, 48, is a 1987 graduate of Lenox High School. He went into the U.S. military in 1987 and retired from the Army in 2007 as infantry first sergeant. He also attended Troy University in Troy, Alabama, for a time. In 2009, Lillie joined Adams County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.
“I like helping people,” Lillie said.
Lillie is running against Johannes because he wants to “put honesty and morals and ethics back in the leadership.”
“We don’t have that in Adams County Sheriff’s Office as far as the leadership there,” Lillie said. “His personal judgments interfered with his professional judgments.”
According to Lillie, he and the other deputies learned Johannes had lied to them to cause a rift within the department. By doing that, he divided the deputies and continued lying.
“At that point we called him into the office and told him we no longer support him. We have had a discussion with him several months prior to that about the lies and the deceits, and we wanted it to stop. It didn’t,” Lillie said. “At that point, the deputies agreed we wanted me to run for sheriff, and we wanted the board and the county to know exactly what we were dealing with.”
Lillie was referring to several Adams County Board of Supervisors meetings in August, when he and several other deputies attended the meetings to discuss concerns they had about Johannes’ administration.
According to the minutes printed Aug. 4, “he (Lillie) said there is no trust or confidence in the sheriff due to his lying and creating animosity within the entire department. His (Johannes’) personal relationship with a member of the staff has interfered with his ability to run the department. It has caused all of the deputies and some dispatchers to want to look for other employment.”
“I want the deputies to know that when they’re out there doing their job, they don’t have to worry about what’s behind them,” Lillie said. “We go to work now, we worry about what’s in front of us, the threats in front of us, but we also worry about what the sheriff’s going to do next. They won’t have to worry about that.”
Lillie said he wants to push for more training for the deputies and upgrade their weapons systems by obtaining better optics, which help in limited visibility. He also hopes to instigate monthly counseling to improve officers’ work by correcting mistakes and holding himself and the officers accountable.
“Most of my life I’ve led soldiers. I know what it takes to be a leader. I have the experience to be a leader and manage people. I led a 138-man company into combat. I think I can handle six deputies,” Lillie said. “My biggest thing on this is I’m not doing this for my personal gain. I don’t need it. I’m doing this because we have some of the best deputies in these counties. ... If something doesn’t change, we won’t have the good officers we have.”
County Board of Supervisors
Merlin R. Dixon
Age: 76
Of: Corning
Work history: Former Adams County sheriff for 21 years, worked in trucking and with Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, Adams County supervisor from 2012 to present
Party: Democrat
Why do you want to remain a supervisor? "I think for the years of experience of county government and my age also, I'd be good for the job. I try not to let the bad things in history repeat. ... The Board of Supervisors, we all work together when we get in there."
Karl McCarty
Age: 55
Of: Rural Prescott
Party: Republican
Work history: Farmer, carpenter, Adams County Supervisor from 2008 to present
Why do you want to remain a supervisor? "There's still work to be done, and I want to be involved in the community."
County Auditor
Becky Bissell
Age: 30
Of: Rural Corning
Work history: Five years at New Balance Commodities in Adams County working with accounts and schedules, Adams County auditor from 2012 to present
Why do you want to remain auditor? "I like what I do, and I like that I am providing the service to Adams County residents, and that I'm very diligent in making sure the code of Iowa is carried out properly. ... Iowa has very strict, strong election laws, and they take the elections very seriously, and I want to keep the integrity of elections in tact. I take great pride in what I do."