John Maxwell

Refused to Certify a Tied Election — Against Legal Advice

In December 2023, a Pleasant Valley school-board recount came back a dead heat: 255 votes to 255. Certifying a recount is a routine, ministerial duty, and the county's own attorneys advised the board to accept it so the tie could be broken the way Iowa law requires. Instead, Maxwell voted No — and the board rejected the recount 3-2, so the tie was never broken and one candidate was left seated over the other.[1][2]

Cut $213,000 From the Senior Center

Maxwell backed the county budget that zeroed out the entire $213,000 county contribution to the Center for Active Seniors — roughly a fifth of the senior center's budget — and cut funding for the Center for Alcohol & Drug Services, over more than 90 minutes of public objections.[3]

Voted Against a Fair Wage on County Projects

In 2022, Maxwell joined a party-line 3-2 vote to reject a proposal requiring contractors on federally funded county projects to pay the local prevailing wage — the standard that protects working people's paychecks. The board's two Democrats voted for it; its three Republicans, Maxwell among them, voted no.[4]

Voted to Keep Utility-Scale Solar Off Scott County Farmland

In September 2022, the board voted 4-1 to adopt a zoning ordinance that effectively bars utility-scale solar farms from Scott County's prime agricultural land. Maxwell voted Yes.[6] It blocks any land scoring 60 or higher on Iowa's soil-quality scale — prime farmland — from hosting solar, on top of setbacks of up to 1,000 feet from homes and a floodplain ban.[5]

Maxwell is a fifth-generation dairy farmer who runs Cinnamon Ridge Dairy[9] — so on a vote about what farmland can be used for, his personal interest and his vote lined up. He said small on-farm solar is fine, but industrial-scale solar is not.[7]

Put Federal COVID-Relief Dollars Toward a Juvenile Detention Center

In 2022, Maxwell seconded and voted for the county budget that put federal ARPA pandemic-relief dollars toward a new roughly $26 million Youth Justice & Rehabilitation Center — a juvenile detention facility — more than $7 million of it COVID-relief money, by the Quad-City Times' count.[8][4] The ACLU of Iowa and nine other organizations wrote the board calling that use of COVID-recovery money “harmful and unlawful,”[15] and residents asked the board for a voter referendum instead.[8] Supervisor Ken Croken's budget amendment to strip out the ARPA money died for lack of a second.[8] Maxwell voted for the budget anyway, and later seconded the final building plans, approved 4-1 with Croken the lone No.[10]

Moved the Budget That Set Your Tax Bill

Maxwell hasn't just voted for the county's budgets — he personally moved the one that set your FY2025 tax bill. He moved the resolution adopting the county's roughly $136.69 million FY2025 budget, which passed unanimously.[12]

• Moved the FY2025 county budget — Res. 98-2024, $136,690,626, adopted April 25, 2024, passed with all supervisors voting Aye[12]
• Voted Aye on the FY2027 budget — Res. 73-2026, $136,853,635, adopted April 23, 2026 on a 4-1 vote, with fellow Republican Ross Paustian the lone No; the urban levy rate was held at $5.93331 per $1,000 (2026)[13]

Voted to Buy a $360,000 Building — Over Fellow Republicans' Objections

On April 25, 2024, on a 3-2 vote, Maxwell seconded and voted Aye to buy 2322 E. Kimberly Rd. in Davenport for $360,000 for the County General Store — over No votes from fellow Republicans Paustian and Dickson.[14]