Voters decisively declined District 1 supervisor Matt McCoy’s reelection bid in the June 2 primaries, marking the toppling of an incumbency that dominated the Polk County Board of Supervisors for decades.
Polk County Board Chair McCoy lost to John Forbes, a former Democratic Iowa representative.
In District 4, lifelong east-sider Heather Jones-Brown narrowly defeated longtime Des Moines City Council member Joe Gatto in his bid to replace longtime Democratic supervisor Tom Hockensmith.
Izaah Knox, a Democratic state senator, is set to replace longtime supervisor Angela Connolly for District 5.
The June 2 primary election marks a reset, with more than half of the seats — three of the five — to be filled by new people. And with Republican supervisors Jill Altringer and Mark Holm about 18 months into their own four-year tenures, Polk County residents are in store for a clean slate on the supervisor board, ending an era largely controlled by incumbents.
Former Des Moines City Council member Chris Coleman, who’s known both McCoy and Gatto for decades, chalks the losses up to an idea that incumbents are out of touch. Coleman applauded candidates like Forbes and Jones-Brown for their hard-fought campaigns, but said it was frustrating that the small portion of people who voted in the primary seemed to care little about experience and more about electing new people who are activists.
“I think there’s a narrative out there that the current power establishment is not listening and not serving the people. …I don’t see (that’s) the case,” Coleman said, adding, “I hate to see elected officials go out this way.”
John Norris, a former county administrator, told the Register the 2026 primary was different from 2024, a time when there were two open seats in two Republican leaning districts. This year, results showed voters were prepared for a change after years of watching issues accumulate at the county, Norris said.
“I think they want to see a well-functioning board that’s focused on them and county services,” he said.
More than 71,000 people voted in Polk County for all primary races, while about 62,000 voted four years ago, according to Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald. The results are not official until they are canvassed.
In addition to representing a county of more than half a million people and balancing a $302 million operating budget, the Polk County board makes key decisions that impact regional economic development, establishes tax levies, enacts ordinances, appoints individuals who serve on boards and commissions, and decides who receives community grants from Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino proceeds.
Voters handily elected McCoy over longtime incumbent John Mauro in the 2018 primary elections. McCoy — then a Democratic state senator, as well as the first openly gay state lawmaker — said he ran to bring transparency to the seat, which represents Des Moines’ southwest side, West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
But his two terms proved tumultuous for McCoy, 60, who was caught in the middle of accusations, costly lawsuits and infighting among board members and staff. He once likened the reception he got from his colleagues at the beginning of his tenure to being “a skunk at a wedding.”
Unofficial results from Polk County’s election office showed Forbes secured 60.4% of the votes with all precincts reporting. McCoy got 39.5% of the votes.
McCoy did not respond to the Des Moines Register’s request for an interview about the results.
Forbes, a former six-term Iowa House representative, said he wanted to bring civility and trust back to the board. His priorities include mental health services, food insecurity, housing insecurity and clean water.
After his victory, Forbes, 69, told the Register he was overwhelmed by the support from District 1 residents. He said his landslide signals residents’ thirst for a “fresh start.”
Sam Hoyle, owner of New Tribe Media, the firm hired to run messaging and strategy for the Forbes campaign, said the pitch was first about Forbes’ story — a trustworthy person with extensive political experience. It also was about offering an alternative to a longtime incumbent shrouded by controversy.
“I think the other part is the electorate is informed, they’re paying attention. And if folks aren’t kind of living the values they talk about … folks are going to know and they’re going to vote accordingly,” Hoyle said.
Hoyle said the Forbes team knocked more than 10,000 doors in the span of three months. Voters shared worries about water quality and cost of living, but they also got a lot of feedback about the lawsuits and a sense of chaos at the county.
McCoy ran as a change-maker, tenure marked by turbulence
McCoy said he ran for Polk County office as a change-maker eight years ago.
At the time, the board was composed of a ruling triumvirate of old-school Democrats, Angela Connolly, Tom Hockensmith and John Mauro, and a couple of long-tenured Republicans, Robert Brownell and Steve Van Oort.
When Mark Wandro, then longtime county administrator, announced his retirement in 2020, McCoy backed Frank Marasco, the administrator of the sheriff’s office, as Wandro’s replacement. But the other supervisors opted for Norris, a longtime Democratic operative who had been an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate.
McCoy was later wrapped up in a lawsuit filed in 2021 by his ally, former county human resources chief Jim Nahas, who alleged he was forced to resign as part of a political vendetta. His lawsuit named as defendants former administrator John Norris, as well as supervisors Connolly, Hockensmith and former supervisors Brownell and Van Oort.
Nahas’ firing came after a prolonged investigation into allegations of vulgar and threatening statements made by McCoy toward a county employee during a meeting with Nahas and Marasco — a claim McCoy denies. Polk County paid $2.5 million this year to settle with Nahas.
McCoy won his reelection campaign in 2022 but was stripped of his seats on boards and commissions the same year amid the county government infighting.
The 2024 election of two Republican supervisors, Altringer and Holm, reshaped the board toward transparency, budget savings and modernization. The two allied with McCoy and, just days into their new tenure, suspended Norris, setting off a fiery dispute in which Holm and McCoy allege Hockensmith threatened to fight them.
Once the three supervisors dismissed Norris, they tapped Marasco to replace him. McCoy was once again voted board chair.
The first eight months of the new board, divided politics played out in 3-2 splits at least 19 times over about two dozen meetings. In each one, it was Holm, Altringer and McCoy versus Hockensmith and Connolly. Fed up with clashes, Hockensmith chose not to seek reelection this year. Connolly followed suit.
Altringer and Holm did not respond to the Register’s request for comment about the 2026 election results.
McCoy’s legacy: investing in Polk County needs, while saving money
McCoy, who announced his reelection bid in November, said undoing a “political patronage system” — one where no-bid contracts were commonplace and landing a job in the county’s government was about who you knew — inevitably creates strife.
Among his accomplishments, McCoy pointed to the county investing $200,000 to help keep 60 water-monitoring sensors active in rivers across the state, including Raccoon, Des Moines and Cedar. The county pitched in amid concerns over the quality of central Iowa’s water to ensure there would be no lapse in data collection.
The board also focused on how to invest limited dollars to solve large community problems, given the property tax-cutting legislation Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law, McCoy said. Efforts like handing off the Des Moines-based Polk County Medical Examiner’s office’s autopsy services to the state’s office in Ankeny will save millions of dollars, he said.
Coleman said the newly elected officials reflect a tremendous reshaping of local government dynamics in the region, one that will extend to all the regional boards Polk County collaborates with, such as Bravo and Catch Des Moines.
“So we have a lot of work to do to maintain all the good that’s been created, and we need to lean into our new elected officials to take us to even a better place,” he said, adding that the tough budget climate will make the effort more challenging.
The Des Moines Register’s Reader’s Watchdog Lee Rood contributed to this story.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government and Polk County reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Polk County primary ushers in three new supervisors, new era
Reporting by Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
