Legislators Get to Work

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By John Drury

There was an interesting article in the Mason City Globe Gazette the other day. Todd Dorman, their Des Moines Bureau correspondent recently wrote about the new legislature getting to work in Des Moines. The focus of the article was on the opening day of the legislative session and how the new Republican minority is adjusting to the new Democratic majority. 

Since Democrats haven’t been the majority party in the legislature since 1992, it was interesting to hear what some of my local Republican legislators had to say about the new lineup.

Republican Representative Linda Upmeyer, almost gracefully said that she understands that things will change and it will take some getting used to.

Republican Senator E. Thurman Gaskill made an attempt at taking the high road and said that he was humbled to serve, regardless of who is in the majority.

And then there’s Henry. Republican Representative Henry Rayhons was actually quoted as saying, “In general, things are going pretty good. I’m not going to ask for too much for North Iowa.”

Well, since opening day, Representative Rayhons has voted against raising the minimum wage, and voted against the putting a cap on car title loans. Other north Iowa legislators have supported both measures.

The minimum wage, although watered down significantly from where it should be, will improve the lives of thousands of north Iowans.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has called car title lending one of the worst consumer practices he’s seen in his 25 years on the job. This bill caps interest rates for these loans at 21 percent and apparently Representative Rayhons thinks this is a bad idea.

These two bills are both aimed at helping many north Iowans who are struggling to make ends meet and should have been supported by all of our legislators.

Well, at least Representative Rayhons has turned out to be a man of his word. He really isn’t going to ask for too much for North Iowa.

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Bush’s “new strategy”

George W. Bush finally announces that it’s time for a new strategy in Iraq. Like it or not, he is sending 21,500 additional troops into Baghdad with the hopes that this “surge” will win his war.

In response to overwhelming opposition to this “plan”, Bush has said, “to oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible,” which is kind of like saying, “well, this plan is better than nothing.”

Is it just me or does anyone else think that we should expect more from our Commander-in-Chief than to come up with a strategy that not even he can defend?

Impeach.

John Drury, Mayor
205 6^th Street
Swaledale, IA 50477

Random Views From A Community Activist

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by John Drury

Governors go to the fair
This past weekend, 30 or so Governors from across the country met in Des Moines for their annual conference. Likely 2008 presidential candidate and current Governor Vilsack put on quite a conference according to most reports. The governors were even treated to a mini state fair complete with rides and I’m guessing a corn dog or two. One bit of good news I saw today was that Governor Schwarzenegger of California and Governor Jeb Bush of Florida were not among the attendees. We can only hope this means they aren’t likely to run for President in 2008.

Bush to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court
I saw a little bit of the nightly news tonight and noticed that Bush is set to announce his replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court. He was asked what he thought of a particular judge who is on the short list of nominees and he shot back, “Let me put it this way, when I want you to know who it is, I’ll tell you who it is.” Why does everything have to be such a Texas showdown with this guy?

Gaining new customers
I heard an interesting commentary on Marketplace Morning Report from commentator Adrian Wooldridge, who is a correspondent for The Economist. He looks at how businesses try to gain new customers and applies it to politics. He contrasts Democratic chairman Howard Dean to Ken Mehlman, saying that Howard Dean is focused on blasting Bush and speaks more to his base in an attempt to fire up his "existing customers," if you will. On the other hand, Republican chairman Mehlman is giving daily speeches to “new customers” of the Republican party; in this case, minorities. He comments that this approach is working and that’s why the Republicans are out fundraising Democrats 2 to 1.  

The more I look at this blog …
The more I’m impressed with the content. Let’s look back at a few recent posts. Chad Thompson has a post up today about ethanol and the debate on whether it takes more energy to produce ethanol than it’s worth. His post contradicts an earlier post by Molly Regan that states the opposite, an interesting debate no doubt. A debate whose outcome probably depends on who is paying for the study, as Linda points out in her comment.

Last week, Caroline Vernon had a link to a site that pointed out pollution in Iowa and the responsible parties. On Monday, Linda posted a follow up article on Iowa’s pollution. She points out that Woodbury County holds the “honor” of being the Iowa county with the most pollution. Oddly enough, she was thinking about moving to Woodbury County and decided to check them out.  Linda, I think we all want to know, are you still thinking about moving there?

And we can always count on Trish Nelson to go after the facts on the issues. She has an ability to analyze the spin and read between the lines of the propaganda being shoved on America.

I guess my point is that there are some very dedicated people that contribute to this blog and we should all send a thank you to Linda for being the driving force behind it. Her dedication to this never ceases to amaze me.

Random Views From A Community Activist

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by John Drury

Bush speaks to the nation
Bush addressed the nation the other night in an attempt to regain the support he has lost over his war for oil. He dismissed calls to set a timeline to bring the troops home by saying that our troops will remain in Iraq for as long as we have a mission to complete. I found this particularly interesting given the fact that it was he who declared “mission accomplished” over two years ago. It’s time to bring the troops home, period.

Vilsack orders felons to vote
Governor Vilsack has signed an executive order returning the right to vote to convicted felons that have served their time and some Republicans are not happy with the move. The order automatically returns the right to vote to convicted felons who have served their time. Iowa is one of a handful of states left that require felons to appeal to the Governor in a lengthy application process to regain their voting rights. Republican House Speaker Christopher Rants has said he thinks that we should welcome felons who have served their time back into society but he draws the line on voting. What is it about Republicans and their desire to stop people from voting?

Speaking of voting …
There’s a new report out that tells the tale of the Ohio voting boondoggle. It’s a good read unless of course you’re under the impression that we live in a democracy where everyone has a voice in their government.

Here’s an excerpt from the report … half of the state’s African-American voters reported some problems at the polls on Election Day. On average, black voters waited in longer lines than white voters; they were asked to provide identification more often than white voters; they were required to vote on “provisional ballots” more often (and their provisional ballots were counted less often); and they were intimidated at the polls more often than white voters. The DNC found that 16 percent of African-American voters felt intimidated at the polls; some reported hearing that “police would be at the polls to arrest people who had outstanding child support or car payments.” Overall, the problems African-Americans saw caused them to question the integrity of the election. While 77 percent of white voters were “very confident” that their votes had been counted, only 19 percent of black voters felt the same way.

You don’t suppose this has anything to do with yet another power hungry Republican Secretary of State seeking higher office do you?

Fireworks and needy people
Like many Iowans over the weekend, my wife and I watched a fireworks display. This one happened to be in the neighboring community of Rockwell. As we sat there with a group of friends watching the night sky light up, one of our friends said that he thought it was ridiculous that we spend so much money on fireworks in this country. “Imagine if we took all the money we spend on fireworks and gave it to needy people, we wouldn’t have any more needy people,” said Mark.

I responded to Mark by saying that perhaps Americans need the fireworks displays to remind us that we are the greatest country in the world. We are so rich and powerful that we can afford to light up our skies with these explosives and not give a second thought to the cost. And what better day to do this than on the fourth of July, our nation’s birthday.

“Just imagine how many people we could feed with that kind of money, though,” he said.

 Random Views From A Community Activist

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by John Drury

Crunching the numbers on the death penalty
Senate Democratic leader and gubernatorial hopeful Mike Gronstal was interviewed last week on IPTV’s Iowa Press. Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen pressed Senator Gronstal on the issue of bringing the death penalty back to Iowa. As you probably know, there were more than a handful of legislators wanting to debate this contentious issue and Gronstal effectively blocked senate debate on it in this last session.

Yepsen asked Senator Gronstal why he was so against the death penalty, given the recent Jetseta Gage case, a case that did prompt the legislature to toughen their sex offender laws. In almost the same breath, he said that his first instinct in the Gage case was that the state should kill the sex offender, but that he is morally opposed to the death penalty and that he didn’t think that an evenly split senate should waste time debating the issue.

Yepsen countered with the thought that if Iowans want a death penalty in this state, then they need to rid the legislature of Democrats so the debate can take place. Gronstal then retrenched and said that bringing back the death penalty is not a fiscally responsible thing to do. It costs more to kill the offender than it does to keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.

I don’t know about you, but I’m confused as to why Gronstal is opposed to the death penalty. Is it because it’s immoral to kill, or is it because we just can’t seem to crunch the numbers?

At least he didn’t scream it
DNC Chairman Howard Dean has been criticizing Republicans calling the Republican party “pretty much a white, Christian party.” He also said that Republicans “never made an honest living in their lives.” This has caused some Democrats to run for cover saying that Dean is going overboard and that he doesn’t represent their views. Howard Dean has a pretty good handle on the issues facing this country; I have to wonder why he chose to resort to name calling when he could be pointing out where the Republicans have been dead wrong on so many issues.

Democrats increase their numbers
Governor Vilsack has announced he will sign an executive order returning the right to vote to convicted felons that have served their time. He notes that when you return these rights, “crime rates and recidivism are lower.” Republican leadership is crying foul. House Speaker Christopher Rants said, “I think society’s entitled to say, you know what, we welcome you back, but you don't get to help make laws once you've crossed a certain line.” At the same time he is taking moral high ground, Speaker Rants’ office circulated a 2003 study by sociologists from the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University arguing that Democrats would benefit most from permitting felons to vote.

Supervisors give in to Farm Bureau
At their regular meeting this morning, the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors lifted their moratorium on construction of hog confinement facilities in the county. A few years ago, they went against state law and enacted a moratorium on any new confinements or expansion in the county. State law prohibits local governments from regulating this industry but the supervisors were under an extraordinary amount of pressure from the public and enacted the moratorium, reasoning that we need a timeout while the state legislature figures this issue out.

Well, years later the state has yet to enact meaningful legislation that would strike a balance between the industry and the people and the environment. By ignoring this issue, the legislature has only added fuel to the growing civil war in rural Iowa.

The supervisors did mention that they were working on something called a "good neighbor policy." Is it just me or does anyone else find it incredibly sad that the Iowa legislature has allowed rural Iowa to get to the point of needing a policy to hopefully ensure good neighbors?

This issue pits neighbor against neighbor. This issue must be solved, it must be solved at the state level, and it must be solved in the next legislative session. Stay tuned.

Legislative Session Nothing to Boast About

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by John Drury

Iowa Senate Democratic leader and potential gubernatorial candidate Mike Gronstal was in Mason City the other day. He apparently is on a tour of the state looking for press and support of his possible run for the governor’s office.

He is calling the recent legislative session “historic”, pointing out that the divided senate forced both parties to listen to the other side. He boasted about some of the accomplishments of the session such as more money for schools and the legislation to reduce the number of meth labs in the state.

First off, it’s a sad day in Iowa when simply listening to the other party is considered historic. And if you talk to school boards and superintendents, they will tell you that giving them 4% allowable growth after years of under-funding doesn’t come close to enough money to properly fund public education. And if your school’s enrollment is on the decline as a lot of them are, there is no new money. The meth lab legislation is something I would have voted for but since 85% of the meth problem comes from out of state, I would realize that we probably haven’t even scratched the surface of the problem.

What he can’t boast about is how the state legislature has failed to address the “brain drain” problem. Sure, the senate Republicans got a lot of press when they announced their no tax under 30 plan; but after being mocked in the Op-Ed page of the New York Times they more or less admitted it was nothing more than a gimmick and dropped the idea.

What he can’t boast about is how the state has failed to help thousands of working Iowans by raising the minimum wage. We even heard the senate Republican leader say that he didn’t see that it was an issue because he doesn’t know anyone working for minimum wage, almost at the same time one legislator called the state’s workers “bottom feeders.” Not only did we not raise it, we sat idly by while Minnesota did the responsible thing and raised it by a dollar to $6.15. Quite frankly, it’s almost embarrassing to sit here and argue for a $6.15 minimum wage. Even that falls piteously shy of a living wage.

What he can’t boast about is that according to a recent Des Moines Register article, the state has dropped to 49th in the nation when it comes to public land for recreation. And even though recreation is essential to keeping residents in the state and attracting tourists, just 2 percent of Iowa is public recreation land. According to the article, years ago state lawmakers set a goal to have ten percent of Iowa in publicly controlled lands. I think we have a ways to go. Only the state of Kansas has less land for public recreation than we do. On a lighter note, we may now have a new state slogan ... “Thank God for Kansas!”

What he can’t boast about is how the legislature failed to listen to the concerns of organic growers in the state before they passed the infamous seed de-regulation bill. The legislature enacted pre-emptive legislation that prevents local governments from regulating the types of seeds grown in their communities or counties. Essentially, they are now regulating de-regulation. So in retrospect, I guess that is kind of “historic.”

What he can’t boast about is that even though we are in a difficult budget crisis, we somehow found money for a pay increase for state legislators.

What he can’t boast about is how the state has failed to make it easier for Iowans to get affordable prescription drugs from Canada. Currently, there are only four U.S. states that openly encourage their citizens to buy prescription drugs from Canada: Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Maybe the senate Republican leader doesn’t know anyone that can’t afford to buy their prescription drugs.

If this session was truly historic, then let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

"Well, as long as you're OK."

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by John Drury

I want to take a break from the politics for a week and dedicate this column to my mother in honor of Mother’s Day. My mother passed away on March 18, 1999 after a brief bout with lung cancer.

My mother taught me that in order to get anywhere in life, you couldn’t be afraid of hard work. I don’t recall her ever specifically sitting me down and teaching me this lesson, instead she taught by example.

As long as I can remember, she worked as hard as she could and if something needed to get done, she would be the one to do it. My mother had a strong work ethic and whether she knew it or not, she passed that on to all of her children as well.

My parents were divorced when I was a teenager and after my older brothers and sister had either gone off to college or moved away, it was just the two of us.

She worked for years at the hardware store here in Swaledale. G.A. Eddy & Sons TrueValue hardware was a full scale hardware store, complete with lumber yard and LP gas business. I would venture to say that my mother probably knew the product line better than anyone there. If you needed a particular piece of hardware, she knew exactly where it was. I can remember going into the store after school. I remember watching her help customers find what they were looking for. I have one of her nametags that she wore while she worked there. It has the TrueValue logo, underneath that is her name Marcelle, and under that it says Happy To Serve You.

I can’t imagine a more appropriate slogan for my mother to work by. She truly was happy to serve people. Later in life she took a job at Easter Seals in Mason City. She enjoyed that job as well and worked there until her retirement.

When she retired, she found that she perhaps had too much time on her hands. She would never come right out and say it, but I think she missed going to work every day and helping people. What she did come out and say was how proud she was of her children and grandchildren. She took great pride in watching us do well.

I want to share a story. The year was 1998 and I was living in Rhode Island at the time, but my wife and I were in Swaledale for a visit. It was the end of June and time for the town’s annual 4th of July celebration. Almost every town has some annual event where they have a parade, town picnic, games for the kids, perhaps a street dance, and Swaledale was no exception. Swaledale Big Day is held the last Saturday in June. We have all of the required elements for a town celebration and we top it off with a street dance at night. We close off main street, hire a band or a disc jockey and literally dance in the street.

This particular Big Day was probably the hottest it’s ever been in Swaledale. The day’s events were pulled off without a hitch until it was time for the street dance. As my wife and I were waiting for the dance to begin, the Swaledale Fire Dept. went through town advising everyone that there was a tornado coming right towards Swaledale and we were to take cover. We happened to be outside the old hardware store which is now an industrial door business called Doors, Inc. We quickly took cover in the basement thinking that our lives could quite possibly be over. As I sat there waiting for the tornado to either hit or miss us, I remember thinking about the old pop machine the hardware store used to have. I could get a bottle of pop for a dime after school and I often did. I wondered if it was still there.

The tornado missed Swaledale by about a mile and we were relieved. Not only because we were spared the devastation, but also because now we had a legitimate reason to dance in the street. I called my mother after the all clear was issued and told her we were OK. She asked me where we were. I told her we were “in Doors.” She said, “but where are you?” I said, “we are in Doors.” There was a slight pause and she said, “well, as long as you’re OK.” At that point I realized she thought I was telling her that we were indoors but didn’t want to be specific. We shared a good laugh and I still chuckle about it today.

Saturday’s storm brought beautiful weather on Sunday. Celeste and I were supposed to leave in the afternoon for Rhode Island. I remember the family sitting in the grass in the shaded front yard and discussing calling the airline to postpone our flight another day. I am glad we did. It was our last visit before she got sick.

My mother gave me my love for public service. There is a certain amount of sacrifice and when done well, a lot of work involved in being a mayor of a small town. I believe that a love for public service coupled with a strong work ethic were very important traits for me to have.

Everything I set out to accomplish as mayor, I worked as hard as I could to get the job done. My mother wouldn’t have it any other way. And I am very grateful to her.

Quotable Quotes for $1000, Alex

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by John Drury

The last week of the 2005 session of the Iowa legislature is upon us and it seems that instead of trying to get their feet out the door, some are trying to get their feet out of their mouths.

Last week I told you about the egregious remark that Senator Iverson made regarding the minimum wage issue. “The minimum wage really isn’t a huge issue because I don’t know anybody working for that,” said Senator Iverson.

Would you like to meet some, Senator?

Not to be outdone, Senator Mark Zieman, a Republican from Postville, described government workers as “bottom feeders out there with their hand out.” This was during senate debate on the state’s public retirement system. It was later reported that Senator Zieman has received more than $1 million in farm subsidies since 1995. When asked about this, Senator Zieman replied, “I readily admit I got’ em and I admitted at the time that I’m one of those people that’s using the system.”

So then, are you also a bottom feeder, Senator?

In the closing week of the 2005 session, it appears as though the tax credits are flying.

There is an interesting proposal in the House that would extend a tax credit of up to $10,000 if you donate a kidney or bone marrow. “I’m not saying that everybody’s going to rush out and give away a kidney or anything,” said Representative Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Garner.

I would say that’s probably a safe bet, Linda.

There’s talk of tax breaks for people who donate to private schools as well. Representative Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City, is in support of this saying, “We want to have those schools as a viable alternative so people have some choice of where to send their kids to school.”

Are you under the false impression that you have properly funded public education in this state, Senator?

Let’s not limit the wordplay to state politics, 4th District U.S. Representative Tom Latham was in town again the other day. It’s kind of funny, through the fall campaign you couldn’t find the man, and now it seems like he’s everywhere. Anyway, he spoke to a government class at NIACC yesterday, and offered up these nuggets.

On Terry Schiavo, he said that he has “real reservations about Congress getting involved in situations like this” but that they didn’t vote on whether or not to remove the feeding tube, but “whether the federal court should have jurisdiction and I voted for that.”  

With all due respect sir, you got involved in an unprecedented way and there’s no turning back.

On No Child Left Behind, he said that like many federal programs “the intent is good, but the implementation is not always perfect.”

Well, at least you admit it, Tom.

That’s all I have this week. Now it is up to you to either laugh or cry.

Iverson Ignores Iowa's Indigent

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by John Drury

I guess I’m going to harp on the minimum wage again. I would have left it for next session since it’s obvious they aren’t going to touch it this year; but I see that the legislature is considering a bill that will raise their own wages by 17 percent over two years and I simply can’t resist. Yes, that’s right, in spite of a looming budget that is based on spending more than they are bringing in, an under-funded education system, the fact that there hasn’t been an increase in the minimum wage in years, and multiple other financial woes, they are considering a pay raise for themselves.

Right now, the average legislator makes around $21,500, this bill would jump that to $25,000 and leaders would go to somewhere around $37,500. Legislators also get a daily expense account of $86 per day, and monthly expenses of $200. This bill would jump the $86 to $105 and the $200 goes to $300.

I have to admit, I would think the final two weeks of this session will be more chaotic than most and it’s probably a wonderful opportunity to slide this in somewhere.

It’s absolutely amazing to me that any legislator would even consider such a move. In particular, the Republican “leadership” has blamed just about everything under the Iowa sun on the rising costs of state workers; and they have blocked attempts to even debate an increase in the state’s minimum wage. And to be fair, the Democrats haven’t been all that fired up about raising the minimum wage either; they offer it up each year and then watch it die without a fight. But probably the icing on the cake came this week when Senate Republican leader Stewart Iverson said he didn’t see the hypocrisy in not being willing to discuss raising the minimum wage while at the same time voting themselves a pay increase. “The minimum wage really isn’t a huge issue because I don’t know anybody working for that,” says Senator Iverson.

There are thousands of Iowans working for the minimum wage or just above that would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage and it’s a slap in the face to each and every Iowan for any senator to suggest that there isn’t an issue because he or she doesn’t know them.

Leaders from both parties suggest that it’s hard to recruit good candidates because the pay is so paltry. I would venture to say that if the candidate is looking at the pay as criteria for becoming a legislator, then perhaps that person is not a “good” candidate in the first place.

Public service is not about making money. It’s about having the desire to serve the public and passing meaningful legislation that will help the citizenry of the state, and I think most potential legislators understand this.

A raise in the minimum wage helps the least among us. To me, that is a very important part of public service. And to have a leader in our state government deny their very existence while at the same time giving himself a pay raise bespeaks an arrogance that is truly mind-boggling.