2026 Voter Guide: Polk County Supervisor, District 4
Updated: 11 hours ago
Election: November 3, 2026 | Live. Work. Thrive.: Essential Needs, Economic Opportunity and Justice
Voters in Polk County Supervisor District 4 will choose between Alyson DeMoss (Republican) and Heather Jones-Brown (Democrat). The winner will succeed retiring Supervisor Tom Hockensmith.
What does a County Supervisor do?
The Polk County Board of Supervisors is a five-member body responsible for county budgets, tax levies, public services, infrastructure and certain county policies.
Supervisors approve spending, adopt ordinances, oversee county operations and make appointments to boards and commissions. Each supervisor has one vote, so adopting countywide policy generally requires action by the board rather than an individual member.
Meet the candidates
Alyson DeMoss | Republican
DeMoss is a Pleasant Hill City Council member, small-business owner and government-relations professional. She holds an associate degree from St. Cloud State University. Her work includes business ownership and public-policy consulting, and she has served with the Pleasant Hill Public Arts Commission, Metropolitan Advisory Committee and Bravo Greater Des Moines.
DeMoss was elected to the City Council in November 2025 and began a four-year term in January 2026, scheduled to expire in 2029. She became the Republican nominee for Polk County Supervisor in June 2026, approximately six months into that term. In an August interview, she said neighbors had encouraged her to consider the county position.
Her campaign identifies property taxes, water quality, responsible county spending and protecting essential services as priorities.
Heather Jones-Brown | Democrat
Jones-Brown is the assistant chief diversity officer for staff equity at Grinnell College, with responsibilities involving employee recruitment, workplace programs and accommodations. She graduated from Des Moines East High School and holds a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations from William Jewell College and a master's degree in business leadership from William Penn University.
From January through October 2019, she served as executive director of Iowa Sister States, a nonprofit coordinating Iowa's official international partnerships. Iowa legislative records document her presentation to the Legislature's International Relations Committee in that capacity. Her other experience includes financial education, political campaign management and community organizing. She has not previously held elected office.
Her campaign identifies public health, water quality, accessible county services and transparent budgeting as priorities.
Compare their documented positions and proposals
1. Property taxes and county spending
Alyson DeMoss: Prioritizes reducing property-tax burdens while maintaining essential services. She proposes reviewing county expenditures, including nonessential advertising and promotional costs, pursuing efficiencies and exploring alternative funding or cost-sharing arrangements.
Heather Jones-Brown: Proposes transparent, data-informed budgeting with public input, particularly from residents affected by service reductions. She would examine duplication, inefficient spending and programs without clear outcomes while working with community organizations to maintain services.
Both discuss efficiency and protecting services. DeMoss places explicit emphasis on property-tax relief and identifying expenses for reduction. Jones-Brown emphasizes public involvement and evaluating the service consequences of budget decisions. Neither candidate's reviewed statements provides a complete proposed county budget or a specific new tax levy.
2. Water quality
DeMoss: Supports conservation measures to reduce pollution at its source and county advocacy for changes to state policies and permitting. She emphasizes collaboration with farmers, municipalities and other stakeholders.
Jones-Brown: Supports continued investment in water monitoring, watershed protection and stormwater management. She proposes coordination among counties, farmers, landowners and other partners.
Both support cooperation and improving water quality. DeMoss specifically emphasizes regulatory and policy changes, while Jones-Brown identifies continued monitoring and watershed investments. Neither candidate's reviewed questionnaire specifies a comprehensive new water-quality funding amount.
3. Public health and essential services
DeMoss: Identifies public safety, emergency services and infrastructure as priorities to protect during budget reviews. She also identifies water quality and cancer concerns as significant county issues.
Jones-Brown: Identifies public health, including cancer concerns and gaps in mental-health care, as a leading priority. She proposes incorporating health considerations into county decisions and coordinating services across organizations.
Both identify public health and essential services as county responsibilities. DeMoss emphasizes protecting specific services while reviewing spending; Jones-Brown proposes considering health effects across a wider range of county decisions.
4. Property-tax relief for older residents
DeMoss: At an October 7 candidate forum, expressed support for relief structured to avoid shifting costs to other taxpayers or undermining funding for essential services.
Jones-Brown: At the forum, expressed openness to measures addressing costs facing older residents and emphasized adequately funding senior services, including senior centers.
Neither candidate presented a complete senior property-tax relief ordinance or funding model at the forum.
5. Prairie Meadows revenue
DeMoss: Said additional revenue should be treated with the same care as property-tax revenue. She identified direct tax relief or paying expenses that would otherwise rely on property taxes as possible uses.
Jones-Brown: Emphasized transparency in distributing Prairie Meadows grants to community organizations. She also suggested examining whether additional revenue could offset county service costs.
Both described possible uses rather than committing to an itemized distribution plan.
6. Fair access to county government
DeMoss: Said she would not support an additional formal diversity, equity and inclusion policy, citing existing legal restrictions. She also stated that every resident deserves fair treatment and equal access to government, and that failures to provide those protections should be addressed.
Jones-Brown: Emphasized practical access to county services, including language assistance and transportation for residents who have difficulty reaching government offices. She described meeting residents' needs as central to accessibility.
These responses describe their approaches at the October 7 forum, not votes on a specific proposed county ordinance.
7. Constituent communication and representation
DeMoss: Emphasizes working with residents regardless of political affiliation, drawing on her local-government and public-policy experience. Her public statements describe county governance as requiring cooperation across political differences.
Jones-Brown: Proposes regular office hours in different parts of District 4 and publishing information about meetings and events she plans to attend.
Both candidates told the Des Moines Register they would serve as full-time county supervisors if elected.
Understanding their public-service backgrounds
DeMoss currently holds an elected municipal office. Her Pleasant Hill City Council term began in January 2026 and is scheduled to continue through 2029. The county supervisor election is a separate contest for a different office.
Jones-Brown has held nonprofit executive and institutional management positions, including leadership of Iowa Sister States and her current role at Grinnell College. Iowa Sister States works with state government but is not itself a government agency.
Neither candidate has previously served on the Polk County Board of Supervisors. Neither therefore has an existing record of votes on the county board.
What the available evidence does not establish
The reviewed campaign statements do not provide complete county budget proposals, definitive tax-levy changes or itemized costs for every proposed public-health and water-quality initiative.
Candidate descriptions of their experience and accomplishments are attributed to their published biographies or interviews. Prior experience in city government, nonprofit leadership or business does not by itself establish how either candidate would vote on future county proposals.
Original sources and further reading
Research and editorial note
The NAACP Des Moines Branch provides this guide for nonpartisan voter education. We do not endorse or oppose candidates. The guide distinguishes documented positions, candidate-reported experience and official public records.
Research review updated: October 31, 2026.
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