Although his name probably isn’t well known to Marshall County voters yet, Johnathon Remster wants them to know he’ll be on the ballot in the upcoming election as he takes on Republican Kevin Goodman in the race to replace retiring Supervisor Steve Salasek.

Remster, 25, is a 2017 Marshalltown High School graduate and Iowa Army National Guard veteran who wrote himself in on the Libertarian ticket in the June primary. He did the same for the sheriff and auditor/recorder positions, and despite receiving just a single vote — his own — he decided to accept the nomination for supervisor because he felt it gave him the biggest opportunity to benefit the county.

“If I’ve ever forgotten to look up a candidate, I usually just vote for myself,” he said.

After growing up in Marshalltown and gaining work experience through detasseling, Remster enlisted in the Guard at 17 and became a mechanic, later deploying to the Middle East as part of Operation Spartan Shield in 2021 to assist with logistics.

He spent a total of seven years in the Guard before leaving within the past year to support a growing family — his wife and their two young sons. He is now employed in the maintenance department at the Iowa Veterans Home.

When asked what the most important issues are to him as he seeks the seat, Remster identified three: expanding veterans services, spending tax dollars as wisely as possible and improving childcare.

“We have the Iowa Veterans Home here in town, and we have a lot of veteran activity here in town. We have a lot of veterans, but the thing is, they’re not aware of their benefits for the most part,” he said. “They’re very well taken care of at the Vets Home, but especially the younger veterans my age, they don’t know the benefits that they’re entitled to. Oftentimes I’ll talk to friends and say ‘Hey, have you thought about applying for this?’ and they’re like ‘I didn’t even know that existed.’ So really just enabling our county veterans affairs office to help more people.”

Remster added that he felt like the current VA team, Kevin Huseboe and Shari Coughenour, were doing a good job, but he wanted to do whatever he could to help them more. On spending, he said he wanted to ensure tax dollars are being spent in the right places, with the caveat that he didn’t share some of the Libertarian Party’s “more extreme” beliefs on taxation — as an example, he likes seeing a fire truck show up if his house is ablaze.

“I think whatever taxes we do pay need to be spent right. Every single penny needs to be spent the right way, but the biggest issue I think, across the U.S., Iowa, Marshall County, for younger families, I don’t think there’s a greater concern than childcare services,” Remster said. “Cost is one thing, let alone, sometimes it’s hard. At the Times-Republican, I’m sure you guys have covered it, reporting on (the) shortage of daycare across Marshall County.”

For some families, he said, it can mean one parent deciding between a career and staying at home to raise their kids, and daycare for two children can cost twice the amount of an average monthly mortgage in Marshall County. Remster and his wife were affected by the sudden closure of Blossom and Grow Childcare on South 12th Street in recent months.

While he doesn’t want to make “false promises” that he can solve the problem immediately if elected, he definitely wants to make finding ways to benefit local providers a higher priority.

“There’s so many providers out there. You only hear about them on a rogue Facebook page — ‘Hey, I have five spots available,’ ‘Hey, I have two spots available for this price.’ And another big issue is (that) we have a bunch of employees all throughout town who are third shift (or) second shift,” Remster said. “Finding childcare services for people that work third shift at JBS has to be a nightmare.”

Shifting back to the discussion of fiscal priorities, the candidate advocated for using county funds to help “more needy” people and youth services organizations. In the Nov. 5 general election, Remster will be facing Goodman, a farmer from Haverhill who narrowly won the GOP primary over businessman Bill Schendel of rural Marshalltown.

The two hopefuls didn’t have any barbs or jabs to throw at each other, and Remster said he hadn’t heard anything “good or bad” about his opponent.

“I searched him up to see who I was running against. He seems well educated and respected around here, so no issues with him,” Remster said. “I actually normally do vote right-leaning. I used to be a Republican, but I think for my age group, there’s a growing demographic of people who (feel that) the Democratic party and the Republican party don’t represent us very well. And the Libertarian party probably isn’t the answer for everybody, but I think the extreme polarization of the past couple election cycles — not all of us are so far to the left and right. A lot of us are more moderate than what the news tells us we are.”

Conversely, Goodman, a first-time candidate himself, praised Remster for stepping into the ring and seeking the office.

“I wish him well. Good luck to Mr. Remster. I’ve been competing in the world of life since I was five years old, and to this day, I can’t shut that part of me off, nor do I want to. The voters of Marshall County now have a choice. How can that be a bad thing?” Goodman asked. “Obviously, I feel my background and experience makes me the more favorable choice.”

In conclusion, Remster urged all Marshall County residents to vote, whether they’re backing him, Goodman or another write-in candidate.

“Every citizen has the right, and a lot of people have sacrificed a lot for that right to vote. And everybody needs to go out there and let their voice be heard,” he said. “Even if you’re not voting for me, please get out there. Look into the candidates, not just the party, and decide what’s best for you and your family.”

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.