Despite objections, Polk supervisors name justice center after county attorney John Sarcone
Retiring Polk County Attorney John Sarcone thanked county supervisors Tuesday for naming the Polk County Justice Center after him, saying he never wavered in “trying to do the right thing for the right reasons” in the 32 years he has served as the top prosecutor in Iowa’s largest county.
“It’s never really been a job. It’s been a vocation,” said Sarcone, who is not seeking a ninth term in November's election.
The supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution designating the justice center at 222 Fifth Ave. the John P. Sarcone Polk County Justice Center. Though it was a controversial move, the vote received a hearty round of applause from the largely supportive crowd at the meeting in downtown Des Moines.
Matt McCoy, who along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa voiced objections Monday to the naming, was the only supervisor to vote against the resolution, saying it was “divisive and not helpful” to take action without giving the public a chance to weigh in. He also said he thought the county needed a policy on naming an important public building after a living public official.
“This signals that you’re really not concerned about public opinion,” McCoy said.
Though he was reelected seven times without opposition, Sarcone also faced periods of intense public criticism, most recently after his office's prosecution of protestors in the wake of unrest sparked by the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody and a national outcry for racial justice.
Before Tuesday's vote, Courtney Reyes, executive director of One Iowa, an advocacy group for LGBTQ Iowans, also objected to naming the justice center for Sarcone, saying it was a slap in the face to marginalized communities and LBGTQ residents. She noted that Sarcone "stood against marriage equality" before Iowa became third state to legalize gay marriage.
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But Thomas H. Miller, a 41-year prosecutor for the state and county, said the county attorney’s office has been the “best-run and best-led” in the state under Sarcone. While times changed over Sarcone's tenure, he led a diverse office with integrity and protected victims who were disproportionately from marginalized communities, Miller said.
“It’s a well-deserved accolade for a guy who’s done a great job,” he said.
The naming resolution appeared on the supervisors' meeting agenda Friday after a retirement party for Sarcone the previous night.
Supervisor Angela Connolly apologized Tuesday for the late notice, saying she had hoped to make the gesture a surprise for Sarcone and his family.
Connolly and other supervisors said Polk County buildings named after public officials still alive at the time including the Bob E. Rice Communications Center, named for the Polk sheriff during whose tenure it was built.
Connolly also said she realizes some residents may not agree with the move, but that the devotion Sarcone showed over his decades in office, being on call 24-7 for homicides and other work at the expense of his family, deserved recognition.
In his remarks Tuesday, Sarcone said only the facts mattered in his office’s prosecutions, not a person’s race or status. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done,” he said.
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The Polk County Justice Center opened in November 2016 in the renovated former home of the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance company. The building previously was a J.C. Penney department store.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Polk supervisors name justice center for County Attorney John Sarcone
