Warren County supervisors are trying to figure out how to replace Sheriff Joe Carico, and they can't agree on whether to appoint a successor or send the decision to voters in a special election that could cost tens of thousands of dollars. The board was set to begin the process of appointing a new sheriff at its regular Tuesday meeting, even as some supervisors said they expect the matter to end up on the ballot anyway.
Carico announced his intention to retire back in July 2026, according to indianola-ia.com. He is set to leave office at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2026. His term as sheriff officially runs through Dec. 31, 2028, meaning whoever ultimately takes over would be filling a term with more than two years left.
Supervisors can only officially fill the sheriff position once Carico actually leaves, and the process carries legal deadlines either way. Once he departs, the board must publish notice of its intent to appoint an interim sheriff and then has 40 days from that publication to make the appointment, per the same account. Iowa state law also provides that the county's first deputy should step in to fill an open sheriff position — but that path is complicated by the fact that First Deputy Phil Grimm is himself slated to retire, and the sheriff's department has at least four additional staff members expected to retire as well.
The Appointment Process Supervisors Are Considering
Assistant county attorney Kelly Vewers Meyers said the board can begin preparing the appointment process now, even before Carico's departure takes effect. Supervisor Aaron DeKock said he favors trying the appointment route first, and he laid out a process that would include open applications, resumes, recommendation letters, possible interviews, and narrowing down the field of candidates.
Not every supervisor is fully sold. Board chair Brian Arnold said he's willing to try the appointment process but isn't fully convinced it's the right call, while Supervisor Travis DeWitt said he wants to save the county money but still favors calling a special election outright. Supervisor Stephanie Erickson said some residents distrust the board and have questioned the entire appointment discussion. DeKock, despite preferring to attempt an appointment, said he still expects the matter will end up as a special election regardless.
Petition Math: Nearly 2,800 Signatures Needed
If supervisors do appoint an interim sheriff, that's not necessarily the end of it. Under the process described in the same report, voters may request a special election within 14 days after an interim sheriff is named, and petition organizers would need to collect 2,784 signatures to force that vote. Deputy Auditor Kim Sheets has advised would-be petition organizers to gather more signatures than the minimum required to account for errors that could invalidate some of them.
The cost estimates attached to a potential special election vary. DeKock put the figure at $80,000, Sheets budgeted roughly $75,000 for a possible special election, and a separate report states supervisors had budgeted $85,000 for the same contingency without reconciling the different numbers. That same report also notes county attorney Doug Eichholz has said the county is not required to hold an election to fill the sheriff's job at all, because Carico is leaving after the midpoint of his term. Under Iowa law, the first deputy assumes the office if a sheriff vacancy occurs.
A Recent Precedent: The 2023 Auditor Fight
Warren County has been here before, in a different office. In 2023, after then-Auditor Traci Vanderlinden retired, supervisors appointed David Whipple as interim auditor instead of Deputy Auditor Kim Sheets, and county Democrats pushed back by launching a petition drive seeking 2,500 signatures for a special election, according to KCCI. At the time, the board chair estimated that special election would cost between $30,000 and $50,000.
Supervisors ultimately approved that special election for Aug. 29, 2023, with the winner set to serve through the 2024 general election, as reported by the Des Moines Register. Sheets went on to defeat Whipple in that contest, with turnout described as record-setting for the race, KCCI reported in a later recap. A regular auditor election was already scheduled for November 2024 regardless of the special election's outcome, per the same station's reporting.
What Comes Next Legally
Under Iowa Code Chapter 69, whoever wins a special election to fill a vacancy serves only the balance of the unexpired term, not a fresh four years. The Iowa Secretary of State's guidance adds that special elections to fill vacancies can generally be held on a Tuesday — except during the four Tuesdays surrounding primary and general elections — and typically require 46 days' notice to the county auditor.
Carico has said he initially believed supervisors wanted to appoint someone who did not intend to run for sheriff themselves. Sheriff's officials have spent several months preparing Deputy Matt Van Patten to handle the job, though Van Patten has said he has no interest in running for sheriff. For now, the board's path forward — appointment, election, or some combination of both — remains unresolved, and residents will be watching closely following Tuesday's meeting.
