Hunter
10/10/23
Last week’s Johnson County Supervisor’s work session erupted in chaos after supervisor Royceann Porter lashed out at two individuals who she said wronged her spoke during the public comment segment.
The topic being discussed Wednesday was the process Supervisors are using to issue proclamations. Supervisor Jon Green remarked that the Supervisors have a good foundation that’s based on treating each other with respect and civility, with chair Lisa Green-Douglass adding that questions about acting on action points included in proclamations are an entirely different process.
During the public comment section, Sikowis Nobiss of the Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission accused the Supervisors of disrespecting the indigenous community by using an offensive term when issuing a proclamation on missing women and children. Amel Ali, former chair of the TRC, voiced her support for supervisor V-Fixmer Oraiz’s work on the proclamation process issue.
After public comment concluded, Supervisor Royceann Porter lashed out at both Ali and Nobiss, who she alleged previously said disparaging things about her. She questioned the two demanding respect when they failed to respect her. Porter recalled that Ali called her and other older black leaders a disparaging racial slur in a podcast.
Porter’s statement devolved into a shouting match between her, Ali and Nobiss as Green-Douglass called for a recess to let everyone settle down. Video of the meeting on the county website is briefly cut before the meeting is called back to order, with Porter missing from her Supervisor’s chair.
During Thursday’s formal session, supervisor Green accused Porter of berating fellow Supervisors and staff, saying her actions would cause her to be fired if she was a county employee. He also recommended that Porter be stripped of her committee assignments because of her behavior.