KDSN Radio

A Southwest Iowan who graduated from high school last month has won a competitive primary for a seat on the Mills County Board of Supervisors. Eighteen year old Jack Sayers is one of three Republicans seeking two at-large positions on the board. Unofficial results in Mills County show he got nearly 37 percent of the vote, finishing ahead of two incumbents.

"Overwhelmingly, I think the people of Mills County want change," Sayers says. "They want lower property taxes. They want to protect our sheriff's office and public health and they want to everybody around the entire side of the county to have a voice at the table."

Sayers grew up on a farm near Malvern, a town of a thousand residents that's about 20 miles west of Red Oak. Sayers graduated from East Mills High School on May 19th. He worked as a page in the Iowa House during the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions and did a one month stint as a U-S Senate intern last summer. Sayers says his county's board of supervisors needs to livestream its meetings so Mills County residents can find out how their tax dollars are being spent.

"We have the seventh highest property tax levy in the state of Iowa," Sayers says, "but when I go around the county, I always ask: 'Do you feel like there's a good rate of return?' And people always say: 'No.'"

Sayers fnished more than 100 votes ahead of a Mills County Supervisor who's been on the board for over 11 years. Another incumbent who was first elected in 2016 was in third place. It's likely Sayers' victory in Tuesday's Primary means he's secured a seat on the Mills County Board of Supervisors. Nearly 61 percent of registered voters in the county are Republicans and no Democrat ran in the primary for a seat on the board.