Polk County Sheriff's Office report details supervisors dispute
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Polk County Supervisors met yesterday to vote on an interim county administrator. Screenshot via Polk County YouTube stream.
Polk County Supervisor Tom Hockensmith threatened to fight other supervisors after Administrator John Norris was asked to resign last week, according to an incident report from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Why it matters: The dispute over ousting Norris reflected a deep power struggle within the Polk County Board of Supervisors, whose history is riddled with lawsuits and long-standing disputes between its leaders.
- With the election of two new Republican supervisors, Mark Holm and Jill Altringer, the latest fight highlighted tension over the board's power shift.
Driving the news: Sheriff's deputies responded to a verbal dispute at the Polk County Administration Building around 2pm last Friday.
- Court services chief Ken Pilch called to report that Hockensmith was making "disturbances" and threatening other supervisors, the Register reported.
- When law enforcement arrived, Hockensmith had already left the building. Chair Matt McCoy told officers the board had decided to terminate Norris' employment, which upset Hockensmith, KCCI reported.
- McCoy told officers that Hockensmith said he wanted to fight him and Holm. He said Hockensmith went into Holm's office and "got in his face" and then went to McCoy's office and demanded that he come out, per the Register.
What they're saying: Norris told the Register that within 24 hours of being sworn in on Jan. 2, Altringer and Holm asked him to step down.
- Norris, a prominent Democratic leader, told the Register that three deputies showed up to his office on Friday to escort him out of the building.
- Hockensmith and Norris have declined to share details yet about what occurred. No criminal charges have been pressed.
Between the lines: McCoy and Norris have long disputed with each other, and McCoy and Hockensmith have also openly shown "disdain" toward each other in public meetings, the Register reports.
- McCoy, Altringer and Holm voted Wednesday to appoint Frank Marasco, chief administrative officer for the Polk County Sheriff's Office, as the interim administrator.
- Marasco was McCoy's pick for administrator in 2020, though Norris was ultimately appointed instead.