Events This Week: August 12-18

Today's the first day for candidates to file for city council in Iowa City and University Heights. Will we avoid an Iowa City primary for the first time since 1991? The Rumour Mill only tells me about six candidates. I spell Rumour Fleetwood Mac style.

District B has at large incumbent Terry Dickens vs. Royceanne Porter. In the at large race it's incumbent Susan Mims, pseudo-incumbent Catherine Champion, Kingsley Botchway and Rockne Cole (Cole signs already spotted on the north side). If that field holds, no primary. Too late to launch a serious campaign, but still plenty of time for Some Dude to get the signatures and force an extra election.

The UH has not had a primary in living memory, but expect hotly contested polarized races there until St. Andrew Church is bulldozed and something, big or small, is built on the city's one vacant lot.

Iowa City's hottest club is Bob's Your Uncle on North Dodge, where Janelle Rettig is hosting a campaign event Tuesday from 5 to 7. According to Rettig, this place has everything:

I've heard from 5 of the 9 Iowa City School Board Candidates that they will be attending the Rettig for Supervisor Gathering on Tuesday. They all seem like really decent caring folks and are interested in talking with you and other people. Those I've heard from are James Tate Sara Barron Tuyet Dorau Jason T. Lewis and Chris Lynch. I also know that Kingsley Botchway running for Iowa City Council will be attending. Representative Tyler Olson will be there to talk about his race for Governor. Add in the elected officials expected to stop by Rod Sullivan Terrence Neuzil and you will have plenty of people to lobby and twist their arms. If you know other candidates, please invite them. All are welcome, so please bring friends. Having this event is all about building community and finding common goals to work on. I hope you can make it to visit with some of these candidates in person.

Wearing her work hat, Rettig, and the other supervisors, are hosting a series of listening posts on What To Do Next after the two Justice Center defeats. The first in a series of seven meetings was held Saturday and two more are scheduled this week:

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
North Liberty Community Center, Classroom C
520 West Cherry Street, North Liberty
Supervisors Neuzil and Sullivan

Wednesday, August 14, 2013, 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Solon Public Library
320 West Main Street, Solon
Supervisors Neuzil and Rettig

Summer parade season ends Saturday in Lone Tree (Baja Johnson County). That's in open Senate District 39 so maybe we'll get some hints on who's running.

Summer's almost over: in the Iowa City district new teachers report Wednesday  and returning teachers are back by the end of the week.

School board voting also starts Wednesday. The Dvorskys have weighed in on the school board race, as Sue Dvorsky posts:

Bob and I have decided to cast our 3 votes for incumbent Tuyet Dorau, and newcomers Chris Lynch and Sara Barron. We will be hosting coffees for each of them, to give our friends and neighbors a chance to meet them, and hear their ideas. Mark your calendars for 8/14 6:00 p.m. for Sara Barron. That one will be hosted by my sister Melissa Anne Mandernach (509 5th Ave Coralville), then meet Chris Lynch 8/17 9:30 a.m. here at our house. Bring a friend, and get involved in the conversation!

The Dorau event was this past Saturday. Interestingly, Dorau and Lynch are the two candidates registered No Party. They're also the two candidates from Coralville. East sider Phil Hemingway is a Republican; the other six including Barron are Democrats. Non-partisan race but objective information.

In other candidate coffees, Jason Lewis Thursday from 6 to 7:30 PM at the North Liberty rec center. Lewis gets an endorsement from Jim Throgmorton of the city council, who's also backing incumbent Karla Cook; "Not yet sure about the 3rd position. Need to learn more."

Since Ashton Kutcher gets me record traffic, I need to mention his big premiere Friday as the title character in "Jobs."Or if you're into more local films, it's Landlocked week.

Planning to make this a regular feature, too, in fact I already started on next week. (Now that I'm taking ads I'm obsessing about traffic.) I'm happy to add your events if I've missed any; comment and I'll update. Inclusion isn't endorsement. Example: The Johnson County GOP's Reagan Society dinner this Friday night with speakers Mary Mosiman and - interesting - Mariannette Miller-Meeks... I may editorialize, approximately as I have above.

The Week In Review

Best news of the week: The dean of Iowa journalists, retired AP reporter Mike Glover, is back in the ball game at iowahorserace.com. One more site to visit first thing every morning.

Good news for the many Democrats running in the 1st CD: House speaker Kraig Paulsen, the GOP's most viable candidate, is out. Multiple reports that Black Hawk County's Walt Rogers is interested. Second term legislator, exactly the same length of service as Anesa Kajtazovic. Though the Gazette's James Lynch joked:

w/ Paulsen out, Iowa GOP hoping to recruit @SDandekar4Iowa to run against @MonicaVernon? ;-) #iapolitics #ia01
— James Lynch (@smg_lynch) August 7, 2013

The author of the faux "Vonica Mernon" account found this funny.

Mernon, I mean Vernon, Dandekar and Kajtazovic were all on hand for the EMILY's list Madame President forum Friday in Des Moines. This led to another round of Hillary 2016 speculation, and navel gazing from state and national media, about Clinton's problems in the 2007-08 caucuses. I took a look at Clinton's caucus failures the day before her third place finish. Hoping she fixes those failings before the 2016 caucuses…

…if there even ARE 2016 caucuses. We may well be choosing between Hillary and That Dude In Federal Prison in a June primary. Thanks, Kent. To the national folks it's not the Iowa Republicans who screwed up 2012; it's IOWA. Rachel Maddow bashed us three nights running. Don't forget, the Daily Kos wing of the party is still mad that Iowa scuttled Howard Dean in 2004. The Scream, which I still occasionally use as a ringtone, happened AFTER the Much More Important Third Place.

Mark Smith is the new House Democratic leader, winning what looks like it was a contested fight with Rick Olson of Des Moines. That common name will likely cause as much clutter in my Goodgle News Alerts as his predecessor, Kevin McCathy, did; there's a California congressman in the House GOP leadership who share's McCarthy's name. (I also learned there is another Steve King, from Colorado, who is an awful lot like our own Steve King who is NOT running for president. And there's always New York's Peter King, who is also capable of calculated outrageousness.) But near as I can tell Kajtazovic is unique.

The convention for McCarthy's House seat is now contested. Latino activist Joe Henry has jumped in alongside Karl Schilling who based on his announcement minutes after McCarthy's resignation appears to be the pre-selected successor.

Terry Branstad set the date for the McCarthy special for October 23. That's just two weeks before the November 5 city election. The district is entirely in the city of Des Moines. Why not just combine the legislative special with the city election? That's what Tom Vilsack did in 2001 for a Cedar Rapids legislative vacancy. It meant keeping the polls open till 9 across Cedar Rapids, rather than the usual 8 PM city election close. But that's still cheaper than a whole additional election. Since Polk County has cities with both primary and runoff provisions, this could mean the auditor has to manage five separate elections, some overlapping, between September and December.

Other legislative races:

• Council Bluffs Finance Director Art Hill (R) announces in Senate District 11.I My bet is this means retirement for GOP incumbent Hubert Houser, though I've seen no announcement.
• Rob Hogg announced for re-election in his Cedar Rapids Senate seat.
• Bob Anderson, state central committee member and former Johnson County Republican chair, is now being openly called a candidate in Senate District 39, where Sandy Greiner is retiring. Anderson will face Michael Moore of Washington in a primary. The name Royce Phillips, Tiffin city council member and former mayor, is also being tossed about…

Won't be long till I have to dust off spreadsheets and start keeping track of this. Who wants District Of The Day 4?

In the governor's race Jack Hatch will be up on TV soon, and he picked up an endorsement from fellow Des Moines Senator Matt McCoy. So how much of the primary with Tyler Olson of Cedar Rapids split out - on East vs. Central lines? Hint to all candidates: Johnson County outperforms in contested Democratic primaries, because our courthouse races are a big draw. In both 1998 (Vilsack-McCormick) and 2006 (Culver-Blouin-Fallon) Johnson was the number two county in the state, ahead of larger Scott and Linn.

Locally: Sign wars are heating up in the Iowa City school board race.  Of the nine candidates, Phil Hemingway is the only one not to form a campaign finance committee, required after $750 of fundraising or spending. But he's got plenty of home-painted signs on the east side. Also noted in school races: Former Iowa House candidate Dick Schwab is seeking re-election to his Solon school board seat.

The "21 makes Sense" (sic) committee reorganized this week. Not only are the supporters of lowering the bar admission age back to 19 incapable of returning phone calls to reporters; the previous committee, Yes for Entertaining Students Safely (YESS, not nearly as good a name as 2007's Student Health Initiative Taskforce) just closed its accounts last month. The previous campaign leader, bar owner Mike Porter, has moved out of state, successfully driven out of business by the city and University. "All it took for Iowa to become the top party school in the country was for me to leave town," he posted on Facebook. "I guess i was holding the party scene down too much. Hahaha"

I guess so, Mike: “Of course I’m drunk, it’s Thursday night in Iowa City.” (In what may be an effort to keep up, Iowa State is offering students $1000 to NOT live in the dorms.)  

Site notes:

1. I may start doing a post like this regularly.

2. Blogs are pretty old school in the Twitter Era, but before that we geezers used to have these things called "personal home pages." I hosted mine with my Internet service provider. They followed in the footsteps of GeoCities and pulled the plug on this service on August 1, with enough notice that I was able to save what I needed. I used this space to host some photos back in the Iowa Independent era (2007-08) and I haven't and probably won't take time to update those links. So some of my archives will have little red Xs where there should be pics.

3. Also, after the Ashton Kutcher traffic spike, I decided after a lot of thought to host ads. These are not necessarily endorsements.

Steve King Wants You To Break The Law

There was too much crazy at the famIly leader summit today for me to even scratch teh surface. But even above that din, one speech stood out to me. You guessed it, Iowa's Own Steve #NoAmnesty King.

See, the man who wants "Enforce The Law" to be immigration policy, today said that churches should violate the tax code and politicize the pulpit:

“And when we lean across our backyard fence, or when you step up to the pulpit or when you sit in the pew, when you profess the things that we believe in, and you’re a 501(c)3 and you’re afraid of the IRS, just go ahead and defy the IRS on that,” he said to cheers and applause.

So, does that same logic apply to sanctuary cities, or churches aiding the undocumented community? Oh, forgot. We have "no moral obligation" there.

A 21 Side Bar

Lost in the coverage of the Iowa City council's vote to put 21 Bar back on the ballot for a third time: a concurrent vote to reaffirm the council's support of 21, and how that illustrates the dysfunction of Iowa City's electoral system.

Putting the issue on the ballot is kind of a neutral thing. Sure, the council could have seen the error of its ways and repealed 21, but deferring the question to the voters is fair enough. But then immediately re-affirming support for the ordinance? Unanimously?!?

To the untrained eye this contest looks one-sided.  The Yes/19 campaign is inept and invisible, unable to even return reporters' calls. "21 Makes Sense" (sic) has the same all star names it got in 2010 and blanketed the news with its rollout Wedneasday. But this isn't a landslide issue. Don't forget that in 2010, 21 barely survived, just 52-48% (scroll all the way to right).

We're in a town-gown polarized community, so polarized it's unhealthy. There was only one precinct in town that had anything resembling that citywide 52-48 margin - an area that transitioned from student to townie housing. Other than that, the student precincts voted overwhelmingly for 19 and the townies nearly as strongly for 21. The net result: a close race.

Yet the council is governing like it has landslide support on this issue. Which, regardless of what you think of the bar issue itself, is my point.

Set aside the bar admission age issue for a moment. I'd like to; I'm a little too... passionate about it, and I'd really rather someone else, someone with hair and without grandchildren, made the case for my side. For the sake of argument, go to Your Special Place and insert any other bipolar question. Packers-Bears. Mary Anne or Ginger. Cats or dogs. All issues with strong feelings and substantial support on both sides.

To get elected to the city council in Iowa City, you have to win a city-wide election. I'm not going to try to explain the screwy pseudo-district and primary system here; I did so elsewhere recently. Point is, to get a seat you have to win city-wide. And townies flatly refuse to vote for student candidates. In 2011 Raj Patel ran a serious well-funded campaign at age 20 with significant townie support, and he still couldn't get votes east of Governor or west of Sunset.

There's loads of research and history showing that at-large electoral systems have long been used as a tool to dilute minority votes. And Iowa City has not elected a student to the city council since 1979. (No, middle-aged Michelle Payne taking a class doesn't count.) 48 percent of the votes for 19 bar? Zero percent of the votes when the city council reaffirms it.

I'm not asking for a forfeit-style win. A majority, however slim, supported 21 last time. But in a fair system that more accurately reflected voter sentiment, that council vote would have 4-3 or 5-2, not 7-0.

The other communities I've lived in were all college towns in Wisconsin, of similar size to Iowa City. Their city councils were a larger body, a couple dozen members each, elected from wards about the size of our precincts. Each town had two or three students on the council. They didn't run the show, but they had a seat - a VOTING seat - at the table, and from time to time their concerns were addressed or at least heard.

That's the model I'd like to see here.

The city charter is up for review next year. I'm planning to apply for the Charter Review Commission. And without too much bragging, I think I'm highly qualified. What do you think my chances are?

Why Sorenson Matters

If you haven't read it yet, I want you to leave this page right now and read Craig Robinson's piece from yesterday in TheIowaRepublican, "The Payoff - Details Revealed on Sorenson's Deal With Ron Paul." Get another cup of coffee, it's a long read. But do it.

You're back. All done? You didn't? Do what I told you.

Still didn't? OK, the tl;dr version for those with short attention spans.

Documents obtained by TheIowaRepublican.com suggest that State Senator Kent Sorenson sought and likely received financial compensation from Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign before he ditched Michele Bachmann just days before the Iowa caucuses.

To date, only Sorenson’s dealings with the Bachmann campaign have been made public. New information has been provided to TheIowaRepublican.com that details the courting of Sorenson by the Paul campaign, which began in October 2011, long before his public endorsement of Congressman Ron Paul on December 28, 2011.

In total, the asking price for Sorenson’s defection was $208,000. That’s $88,000 for Sorenson, $20,000 for (Sorenson’s clerk and right-hand man) Chris Dorr, and $100,000 for (a) newly created state PAC.

The allegations are documented in meticulous, mind-numbing detail.

It's no secret that TheIowaRepublican and the current state party leadership have a relationship of mutual loathing. And someone with an axe to grind against Sorenson and the state party was obviously a great deal of help to Robinson. But Craig's point of view and his long standing as a top level party activist takes nothing away from this solid work of journalism. My beret is tipped in salute.

This is not how we play in Iowa. This is something out of Boss Hogg or Boss Tweed.
 
You're not supposed to be able to buy an Iowa state senator under the table. And you still can't. That is, unless the state senator is as shameless and self-centered as Kent Sorenson. He's a disgrace even to those who share his hard-right views. He permanently damaged the standing and reputation of one of the state's leading home-school activists, letting her take the fall for the improper use of the group's email list that was not for sale at any price. And how much of Michele Bachmann's fall from favor, while certainly deserved, between October and December was because her state chair was secretly looking for a sweeter deal?

This is important to Democrats, too. It's important to all Iowans.

Iowa's special first in the nation place in the presidential nominating process is already in serious danger. The too close to call, flip-flopped 2012 Republican caucus result was just bad luck. But the aftermath - the removal of the competent Matt Strawn as party chair and his replacement by A.J. Spiker and the Ron Paul faction, the Paul-dominated national delegation that bore no resemblance to the results, the end of the long-standing courtesy of talking to the other party before setting caucus/convention dates, the Iowa GOP's recent ranking as one of the most disfunctional state parties in the country - has been a disaster.

Sorenson's aberrant behavior - the list stealing ("alleged"), the last-minute disloyalty, and now the FOR SALE sign - has made it worse. He has soiled the work of generations of sincere, hard-working Iowa activists of both parties, paid staff and volunteers, who have poured their essence into making the Iowa caucuses what they were supposed to be: a national version of the town meeting, with Iowans standing in as trusted, lucky, and fair surrogates for the entire nation, sizing up would-be presidents on the merits, one to one.

Sure, there were occasional shenanigans from out of staters, and some body-checking by the locals. But by and large we played fair. National operatives, even presidents, come and go. But the Iowa political activists of both parties knew we had to stay here and work with our neighbors.

And that was what we had going for us. Sure, we were a long way from the beltway, too old, too cold, too white, too ethanol and notch-baby obsessed. Our process was too weird. But we played fair.

We were seen as honest brokers. And most of us still are. But Kent Sorenson has damaged that reputation, and in doing so has damaged every Iowan: every Republican, every Democrat, and every independent who's crossed over or even thought about going to a caucus.

And of COURSE the official Iowa Republican Party leadership has been silent since the story broke in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Nothing from the party, nothing from Spiker. That's because Sorenson can do no wrong now that he's part of what TIR's Kevin Hall calls "Big Liberty," the Ron/Rand Paul faction in control of the party apparatus.

Something has to happen. Sorenson's legislative colleagues need to make sure this can't happen again. The Republican PARTY won't do anything, but there are enough fair-minded legislative Republicans outside the Spiker faction who, alongside Democrats, can take action.  We have a tradition of working together for the caucuses, and it's time to revive that tradition.

As for Sorenson? Silence from him as well. At a minimum, he needs to stand down from his re-election race next year. If not, a primary challenge is in order.

An immediate resignation would be more appropriate.

King For President? Ha!

Let's discard THIS little rumour promptly:

Iowa Rep. Steve King, whose hard line immigration rhetoric has angered some of his fellow Republicans and delighted Democrats eager to keep Hispanic voters in their fold, is quietly planning meetings with political activists in the early presidential primary state of South Carolina, CNN has learned.

If these meetings are so quiet, why am I hearing about them on CNN?

If King is curious about seeking the Republican nomination in 2016, as his visit to South Carolina suggests, he would certainly face difficult odds.

King, though, would have a national platform to discuss his policy ideas and might appeal to elements of the Republican base that remain firmly opposed to the immigration reform bill – "amnesty," in his words - that recently passed the Senate.

Which he already has.

Let me tell you something, national media. We've just seen this here in Iowa. Only it wasn't with the presidency. It was with the US Senate race.

King hemmed and hawed and hinted, but probably never had any intention of giving up his House seat for the Senate race. But while that possibility was still out there, the checks rolled in and the spotlight stayed on Steve.

Because that's what it's about. It's about Steve.

So what if his song and dance froze the Republican Senate field for months, helping push top tier candidates out and giving Bruce Braley a head start. It was good for Steve King.

Donald Trump has to visit Iowa whenever The Apprentice is getting ready to announce another season. Sarah Palin hints that she may run for this office or that right when it's time for a TV deal or when she's finished coloring another book.

And Steve King has to say something "crazy" and/or hint at higher ambitions to stay in the spotlight. With the Senate race and governorship off the list, a "presidential bid" is the next logical move.

King isn't crazy. He's very calculating. I can guarantee that King will make some "controversial" statement when he's in South Carolina. He's probably already perfected the sound bite.

Don't get me wrong. I think his xenophobia, his loathing of Hispanic America, his "no moral responsibility" attitude, those are all real. I think his preferred "No Amnesty" solution to immigration is the mass deportation of 11 million undocumented Americans. And then he won't have to Press One For English anymore.

But the "outrageous" statements are part of the act. King knows he's addressing a niche in America, a sad, sick niche that shares his views, and he gives them just enough meat to keep them coming back, without an honest, straightforward detailing of his policies. He can't just come out and say "Round `em up and ship `em back to Mexico." That would cross lines of political correctness that even conservatives have been forced to reluctantly accept. But that niche audience can read King's intent between the lines.

The exit strategy for Steve King isn't a Tom Tancredo style presidential run. It's Fox News. It's talk radio.

Which, if Democrat Jim Mowrer has his way, will be coming to a station near you in January 2015.

We Are The Champions

It's been 28 long seasons since the Chuck Long led Hawkeyes topped the rankings. But after years of effort, and despite an intense counter-effort by UI administrators and the Iowa City Police Department, the Princeton Review has finally named the University of Iowa the nation's Number One Party School.



The ranking is a cold hard slap in the face to the University administration, in about Year Six of its long range plan: 1) get Big Brother Bluto arrested, so he goes home to Schaumburg and tells Little Brother Flounder not to go to Iowa 2) Replace Flounder from Schaumburg with international students who aren't seen anywhere but the library and the dorm.

University officials and Students were quick to react:



It's also a slap in the face of the ICPD and the now-unanimously pro-21 (disappointed, Throg) City Council, and it comes at an interesting time. They're scheduled to take the final vote tomorrow night to put the 21 Bar question on the ballot for the third time in six years.

And if you think the UI administration pulled out all the stops, and sometimes crossed a few lines of use of public resources on a political campaign, in 2010 when this was last on? Imagine how heavy handed they'll be THIS year with Iowa at Number One.

They may win and keep 21, of course, if only because the team pushing the 19 side this time is spectacularly inept.

But the continued rise of UI up the party school list, despite all efforts by the civic fathers and mothers, illustrates the futility. 18 year olds are adults, and young adults want adult fun. Each time this question has come up, the administration and the council, and even the legislators, have dodged the question at the core: the unfair and unworkable 21 year old drinking age itself. Once again, Iowa City has the opportunity to have this discussion in the context of an election. The anti-jail folks made the justice center elections a forum for debate on bigger picture issues. Fine. Let's do that here, too.

School Board Scorecard

School board filing ended yesterday and you'll need a scorecard to keep track. Nine candidates have filed for the three Iowa City school district seats on the September 10 ballot. Unlike 2011, when there was a separate race for one two year term, it's all one contest, top three win. One seat is open as incumbent Sarah Swisher is not running.

School board is a non-partisan office. Yet the most common question I get about school, and city, candidates is: "which ones are the good Democrats?"

"Good" is subjective, but affiliation is purely objective. We're in a polarized era so the label has some meaning. There's Republicans who I'd trust in local office who I'd never support for, say, the legislature. I've once or twice voted for a registered Republican for school board, though if I remember right it was more a matter of voting AGAINST someone else.

In any case, in the interest of Objective Journalism and giving my readers of all parties what they want, I offer some indisputable facts about the nine candidates, continuing a tradition. I also offered links to sites if I can find them. (Phil, Gregg: Will add on request.)

Interestingly, no one from North Liberty filed. As for who wants to close what school? As a Miller-Orchard resident and former - FORMER - Roosevelt parent, I have a certain detachment from that question.

Sara Barron
Age: 36
Residence: Southeast side
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Electoral History: First run.

Karla Cook
Age: 67
Residence: Far east side
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Electoral History: Incumbent, elected to two year short term in 2011.

Tuyet Dorau
Age: 35
Residence: north Coralville
Party Affiliation: No Party. Sometimes claims to be a Democrat but changed to No Party in 2008.
Electoral History: Incumbent, elected in 2009.

Gregg Geerdes
Age: 53
Residence: Manville Heights
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Electoral History: First run.

Phil Hemingway
Age: 54
Residence: East side
Party Affiliation: Republican; only one in race.
Electoral History: Fifth place of eight candidates in the 2011 four year term race. Just 89 votes behind Patti Fields for the fourth and final seat.

Brian Kirschling
Age: 41
Residence: Newport Township just north of city limits
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Electoral History: First run.

Jason Lewis
Age: 42
Residence: Twain neighborhood
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Electoral History: First run.

Chris Lynch
Age: 45
Residence: north Coralville
Party Affiliation: No Party
Electoral History: First run.

Jim Tate
Age: 40
Residence: East side.
Party Affiliation: Democrat.
Electoral History: Last of eight candidates in 2011 race.

August Johnson County Democrats

I've had such an insane schedule today I haven't had time for more than 140 characters on the Kevin McCarthy resignation. And I still don't because we're at our monthly Central Committee meeting.

We're in North Liberty, the biggest city in the open Senate District 39. Our big name guest is Tyler Olson.

We're greeted by North Librty city council's Gerry Kuhl. North Liberty is a big emphasis for us this fall. We're also having an ice cream social Sept. 16 with Dave Loebsack.

Olson is first up. A lot of us just arrived from Olson's meet n greet in Coralville. He's offered to do Q and A, always risky in the People's Republic.

"Is Iowa going to move forward, or are we going to rehash the same arguments we've had for the last 30 years?"

"More and more people are looking for a place to LIVE, and then a place to work. Quality of life is a big opportunity for Iowa."

"We should be competing on the value of the people we have here, and using that as a tool for our economic development. We need a progressive governor who understands how the world is changing."

Chair Mike Carberry asks about mental health funding and Branstad veto. "The funding was there when we transitioned from a county to a regional system, and he vetoed that funding," tying the veto to the closing of the Abbe Center in Cedar Rapids. "We're spending the money to treat people, we're just doing it in the justice system." (Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek backs him up on that; when dual diagnosis is included as much as 70% of justice spending may be mental health related.)  Olson said in his new job for Atty Gen Tom Miller Kevin McCarthy will be working on this set of issues.

(Tangent: Miller also announced for re-election today. Early speculation: McCarthy getting groomed for 2018 AG run?)

Janelle Rettig follows up: "Our ability to fund that won't be possible with your vote" on property tax bill (which Hatch also made.) Olson: Tried to target tax credit to small business. "That part is good." So is earned income credit. "Overall I felt like those credits were good, the bill was presented as a whole." Rettig: what will you do to support cities and counties? "I've had proposals to allow more local control, I'd be willing to look at it again."

Olson (and Bob Krause) will also be on hand for a Johnson-Cedar County "unity event" Saturday 5 PM in West Branch, at HD73 candidate Dave Johnson's home 326 N 4th. Joint County event ≠ Johnson Campaign event despite location. There are rumors of other candidates. Also noted: GOP incumbent Bobby Kaufmann is having a $ raiser next Wednesday at the family farm with Grandpa Grassley, Grandson Grassley, and Kraig Paulsen. And ther are reportes Branstad is coming in later in the month for a high dollar event in Solon. Whoever the Dems nominate needs to get their hands on that level of money.)

Other electeds not yet named on hand: Brad Kunkel (Solon city council) Mitch Gross (Coralville council). Candidates: Jim Tate, Sara Barron, Jason Lewis (school board), Kingsley Botchway (Iowa City council). For the record: Rettig biked from Iowa City to the North Liberty meeting.  Pulkrabek did not but he did ride all of  RAGBRAI including the Century Loop.

Also on hand is Washington County Dems chair Richard Gilmore. He says he's here on "a party building mission. I haven't YET announced my candidacy." Washington County is another big part of open Senate District 39. He's also run for office before (a loss for county supervisor).

We elected three new central committee members and took one resignation so a net +2.

Fall BBQ set for October 13 at the fairgrounds. We're making a wish list of keynote speakers and twisting the arms of the statewide candidates. Several arms have already been successfully twisted. This is a public meeting, but there's no other media here and I don't have to tell you EVERYthing.)

School candidates speak: Tate, Barron, Lewis in that order. Filing deadline was today and I will talk about that tomorrow.

The Rhetoric of the Registration Form

Secretary of State Matt Schultz is rolling out new voter registration forms today, and cynical political observers will see an agenda behind the new layout.

I am, of course, a cynical political observer, but I’m also an auditor’s office staffer, so this form is one of the tools of my trade.  The revision is the first since January 2008, when the Greens and Libertarians were added.  That was a big win for the third parties, but a relatively minor edit.  This revision is a top to bottom rewrite.

Here’s a couple links to compare the old and new versions.

I’ve registered tens of thousands of voters over the last 20 years and I can tell you: people completing a form instinctively want to fill in their name first.  But the new form actually moves name lower, a third of the way into the form.

Instead, in what looks like the idea here, two checkbox questions are bumped up from the bottom to the top, and a third is added.  As of today, the first thing you’re asked when you register to vote in Iowa is if you are a US citizen.  The third box is the newly emphasized question: “If you have previously been convicted of a felony have your rights been restored?”

This new focus addresses twin bugaboos of Schultz and the right, as they make massive attempts to “prove” that voter fraud is rampant in Iowa in their push for photo ID.

The way Schultz sees it, the first thing about the job isn’t helping people vote – it’s stopping people from voting.

As a professional bureaucrat, I guess it makes sense to move boxes labelled “If you answered No to any of the questions, do not complete this form” from the bottom to the top.  But it’s not the warmest welcome to the democratic process.

(Tangent: The second checkbox question is just dumb: “Will you be 18 years of age on or before Election Day?”  Which Election Day?  My county has six this year.  And your birthdate allows us to determine your age by a complex mathematical formula called “subtraction.”  Unfortunately, this wording is required by federal law.)

After you’ve checked these boxes you’re asked for an ID number and your birthdate.  This was the point that led the ACLU to challenge an earlier draft of the form; this version is marginally more clear about which ID number to provide.  These items were at the very top of the January 2008 form.

The old form had spaces for both a phone number and email.  The new form has just one space for “either” and also more strongly emphasizes that these items are optional, which will likely discourage people from providing them.

That’s been an increasing trend. In my county 43% of voters have left the phone number field blank, up from 28% a decade ago.  Many of the remaining numbers are likely bad.  Voters don’t re-register just because they dropped their land line and went cell-only.  They re-register to change address or, occasionally, party (usually when it’s required at a primary or caucus, and only rarely as a Political Statement).

Even if you leave this space blank, you won’t keep campaigns from interrupting your dinner.  In the era of Big Data, both parties have nationalized their files, and they’ll find your contact information someplace else.  But you will make it harder for your auditor’s office to contact you if you make a “your vote won't count” kind of mistake, like forgetting to sign an absentee affidavit.

The address section is the lone improvement I see.  The new form makes it more clear that “alternate address” is meant for post office boxes.  And attention students: unless you want your voter card and ballot sent to Mom and Dad back home in Aurora, don’t put down their address.

The new form changes the layout of party affiliation from rows to columns, and lists No Party (Iowa's legal term for "independent") in front of, rather than below, the major parties.  I’m curious to see if the layout change impacts registration trends, though there are so many other variables that it would be next to impossible to isolate this one factor.

At the bottom of the form you’re asked to sign, swearing to an oath that includes all the same questions about citizenship, age and felony status that are so emphasized at the very top.

The new emphasis on felonies and rights restoration could have a chilling effect for some voters.  Under the last four secretaries of state, of both parties, the de facto penalty for the simple mistake of trying to register without knowing your rights weren’t restored was a simple Sorry But No.

But in the Schultz Administration, fear of prosecution for an honest mistake is real.  I’ve seen it.  During the presidential election I helped a man who had completed all terms of his sentence but wasn’t sure his rights had been restored.  He’d paid his debt to society and wanted to vote.  But faced with the risk of additional prosecution, he didn’t want to take the chance.

And yes, he was black.  Just saying.

Maybe I’m making a big deal out of a little thing.  It’s just a form, nothing like the serious Southern vote suppression efforts in the few weeks since the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling.

But we’re just one state senator away from similar efforts in our state.  And the layout changes are a tangible reflection of Schultz’s attitude.  The way he sees it, the first thing about the job isn’t helping people vote – it’s stopping people from voting.

Nothing Happened Yesterday

Yesterday was an interesting day considering that, by the time it ended, nothing had happened.

For a couple hours, we thought something really big had happened.

At roughly 11:50 AM the national political press, ever eager for signs of life in the 2016 presidential campaign, had picked up on an obscure announcement on the University of Iowa's Welcome Back Week calendar: Newark NJ mayor Cory Booker was giving a lecture in Iowa City - IOWA! - on August 29.

Like an obscure Illinois state senator in 2004, Booker is being mentioned as a potential presidential candidate even before his extremely likely election to the US Senate in an October special election.

That time frame is important to our non-story here. Booker announced his run earlier this year, as a primary challenge to ailing nonagenarian incumbent Frank Lautenberg, who soon after announced his retirement. But then Lautenberg died moving Booker's campaign time frame up a year as even the most casual political news observer would know.

By 12:33 PM, a Booker campaign spokesman was saying the Iowa speech was not on Booker's schedule. UIowa stuck by its schedule and left the speech announcement on its web site till at least 1:30 PM, but by 1:37 the Booker announcement quietly vanished. Later in the afternoon the university offered the weak excuse that Booker's people had never told them of the cancellation.

Likely scenario: the University scheduled Booker early in the year, before Lautenberg's death, then never followed up when the New Jersey political situation changed. Now, I know everyone's not a political junkie like me (or you, because you're reading me). But you mean no one in the University's PR or lecture teams was following the news about the prominent national figure who was supposed to be the keynote speaker for the entire first week of school? No one stopped to think, "mayyyybe we should check in and see if this is still a go?"

It's another biiiiig win in media relations for the Sally Mason administration - perhaps the most derpy moment since December when the University president told a room full of reporters, "Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.”

The botched Booker announcement  would be a national embarrassment -- IF the political press didn't have a gnat-like attention span. Right now they're focused on Hillary Clinton's eating schedule: lunch with Obama yesterday, breakfast with Biden today. What next? they ask. Well, there's an open speaking date in Iowa on August 29...

The other nothing that happened didn't happen late last night in Council Bluffs. Mike "Governor" Gronstal announced to a crowd of hometown Democrats that he was NOT going to seek the demotion from Senate majority leader to actual governor. He probably heard the sighs of relief from the two declared candidates who were in the room, Tyler Olson and Bob "Also Running" Krause.

This particular nothing is not a huge surprise. But the non-announcement was a necessary pre-condition for movement in the governor's race. My bet is more than a few prominent names were waiting on an official No from Gronstal before making a commitment to either Olson or Jack Hatch. With the field now set, look for those endorsements to start.

Porter Announces For City Council

The Iowa City Council District B race won't go uncontested after all. Community activist Royceanne Porter announced yesterday she's seeking the open but not really open seat:

It's official! After consideration of the request to run for City Council for Iowa City, Iowa I have decided to move forward and launch my campaign!!! I will be a candidate for District B and I am looking forward to a positive and successful outcome! I will be seeking your support as I endeavor to represent our community on City Council.

Porter is opposing Terry Dickens, currently serving in an at-large seat but running this year in District B. Seat switches like that have been rumored in the past, but my research tells me this is the first time it's actually happened since the present district system was established in 1975. The current District B incumbent, Connie Champion, is retiring. Her daughter Catherine Champion is running in the at large race.

Still with me? Hang on, it gets weirder. Iowa City's hybrid district/at large system is almost as confusing to new voters as the Iowa Caucuses. 

• The city elects seven council members: three in this year's cycle, four in 2015. 
• Two at large members are up each cycle. You can vote for two and top two win each time. This year, Dickens and Susan Mims (seeking re-election) are up, but as noted Dickens is trying to swap seats. In 2015, it's Matt Hayek and Michelle Payne. 
• The District B seat, roughly the east side, is also up this year. In 2015, Rick Dobyn's District A seat (roughly the west side) and Jim Throgmorton's District C (north side and downtown) are up. 
• The city also has a primary system. It's not a partisan primary so you don't have to declare a party. 
• A primary happens on October 8 if five or more people run at large. Right now we're at four announced candidates at large: Mims, Champion the younger, Kingsley Botchway and Rockne Cole. 
• A primary also happens if three or more candidates run in a district seat. As noted we're now at two in District B: Dickens and Porter. If there aren't enough candidates, the primary doesn't happen. This is also different than a partisan primary, which has to happen whether or not there are contested races. 
• Iowa City hasn't avoided a primary since 1991. For some reason, the city council race has historically been more attractive to, um, unusual candidates than, say, a legislative race. We've had several primaries with five at large candidates, one of whom is clearly very weak or sometimes not even actively campaigning. It's a free country. 
• If there's a primary, you can only vote for two at large and one in the district. You're not picking which four (or two) go on, your picking which two (or one) you want. 
• Now THIS is the most confusing part. If there is a primary in a district seat, only voters in the district vote in the primary. The WHOLE city votes on both the at large AND the District B in the November 5 election.
• And oh, yeah, there's that little bar issue, too. This week the council voted to put 21 Bar on the ballot for the third time rather than repealing it themselves. They also, the same night, voted to ease the 500 foot distance requirement for new bars EXCEPT in downtown. One standard for old people, another for young people. 
• The 19 Bar guys clearly aren't interested in my help. (Maybe I have an ego, but I like getting called. Even if I won't be with you, I might be less against you.) They must expect young voters to just magically appear. I'll still vote to repeal 21, sure, and probably write something, and take a yard sign if one is offered. But this isn't really my fight. If they can't get their 21 and 22 year old friends to support them - and the prevailing attitude among the juniors and seniors has been: I got mine, screw the freshmen - then they don't need a grandpa on board. I have better things to do in support of young people, and probably with a better chance at success.
• Theoretically, University Heights could also have a primary, but this hasn't happened since at least 1977 (as far back as I've seen records) and may never have happened. Almost happened in 2009; one more candidate for mayor or council would have done it. 

So, back to the District B race. Porter has been active in southeast side community organizations and the Police Citizen Review Board, where she's been a frequent critic of ICPD. Looks like that cluster of racial disparity issues is carrying forward from the No Jail campaigns. She's also the second African American candidate, along with Botchway in the at-large race.

Why State Troopers Drive The Governor

Terry Branstad and his team have let SpeederGate drag on for three long weeks, in a classic example of bad messaging. The incident, involving a fired state trooper who reported the governor's van traveling at close to 90 MPH, brought with it a lot of face-palming, and we Democrats are reveling in the schadenfruede. When the other team makes an unforced error, you take the base.


But the controversy about why Terry Branstad's driver gets to speed when the governor is running late, while the rest of us get pulled over and ticketed, begs a question.

Why is it that state troopers drive the governor around, anyway? A lesson from Iowa history shows that the governor's safety on the road is a serious issue.

On the night of Sunday, November 21, 1954, Governor William Beardsley was driving from Ames to Des Moines. The governor and first lady Charlotte Beardsley had paid a weekend visit to their son, Dan, at Iowa State. This was pre-interstate, so they were on old Highway 60.

Beardsley was in his final weeks as governor. The former state legislator, who had defeated incumbent Robert Blue in the 1948 Republican primary, was voluntarily stepping down after three two-year terms, and getting ready to hand off to another Republican, Leo Hough. He was looking forward to returning to his farm and pharmacy back home in New Virginia. But he never had the chance.

That night, the governor, at the wheel, crashed into the back end of a truck. The first lady was seriously injured. Governor Beardsley was killed.

"The people of Iowa have lost a devoted public servant whom they elected three times as Chief Executive of their State," said President Eisenhower in an official condolence.

Ironically, Beardsley was known for roads and highway issues during his term:

Beardsley was an enthusiastic road builder and successfully persuaded the General Assembly to adopt a road-building program. In 1953 he reported that "there has been more construction of highways during the last twelve months than in any other given period in the history of our state."He was especially proud of the miles of farm-to-market roads that had been built. Highway safety was another keen concern of Beardsley's. The Iowa State Highway Patrol was expanded, and emphasized safety education as much as law enforcement. Driver training classes in the high schools turned out safe drivers.

Lt. Gov. Leo Elthon succeeded Beardsley as governor for a few weeks. Elthon had been re-elected - this was back before governor and lieutenant governor were a ticket - so he went back to being lieutenant governor once Hough was sworn in as scheduled.

After that, state troopers took over the job of driving the governor.

So SpeederGate isn't just a question of privilege for the powerful, though that's certainly an issue. This is a matter of the governor's safety, bigger than anyone's personal taste or distaste for the present occupant of the office, bigger than anyone's party agenda. The people have chosen the governor, any governor, to a position of great responsibility, and that power should be handled responsibly.

I was wrrrrrrrrrrr

Jim Mowrer gave me a call last week. As you know, and as he knew,  I was initially quite dismissive of his chances when he announced his candidacy against Steve King. But I'm willing to talk to just about anyone (though Pat Murphy still hasn't called).

And I'm even willing to reconsider sometimes.



Jim Mowrer's a serious guy. He had a serious enough military career, in war and in the Pentagon, that he didn't need to come home to run a hapless race. And he's looked at the numbers, daunting as they are in that red district, close enough to see a path to victory.

That path runs through his fellow veterans and through the independents and even Republicans who are tired of having a congressman who's all talk and no action.

(Speaking of which, King did some more talking this weekend on, of all places, Univision, where he came as close as ever to admitting that No Amnesty = Mass Deportation. “American citizens and legal Americans do not have a moral obligation to solve the problem of the 11 million people that are here unlawfully." See? Even on his signature issue, he is fighting to do nothing.)


Where I was wrrrrr was in my assumption that Democrats had made their strongest possible effort in 2012. And Christie Vilsack was, indeed, King's strongest challenger yet.

But strongest YET is different than strongest POSSIBLE. Vilsack ran a decent campaign, but it was a conventional campaign and in many ways she was a conventional candidate. 
Steve King is an unconventional politician, and it's hard to attack an unconventional target with conventional weapons. So... why not something different? You know I'm all about the young candidates.

Insert megabytes of arguments here about where Christie Vilsack should have run (but remember that Boswell lost). And several high-level Iowa politicos have successfully moved, as long as there was some plausible overlap of territory. But even Vilsack's biggest supporters will concede that her ties to the 4th District really just her ties to the state as a whole rather than anything specifically northwest.

Mowrer is genuinely rooted in the district, on a family farm in Boone. His military veteran background (and, sadly, his gender) can reach voters Vilsack couldn't.

Sure it's a tough fight. But King is about to take center stage in a way he hasn't before. If he fails to kill immigration reform, it's a sign of a shifting mood even among Republicans. And if he succeeds, it just underscores that he's all about nothing getting done.

And in a seeming paradox, the off-year may actually help Democrats; unlike the rest of the state the district is so red that the big presidential year turnout helps the GOP more. And Democrats? In Steve King's district, Democrats will be ready to vote.

Kajtazovic Explores Candidacy in Cedar Rapids

Anesa Kajtazovic took her brand new exploratory campaign into the 1st District's biggest county Wednesday, meeting potential supporters for coffee and speaking to a Hawkeye Labor Council meeting.



The two term Waterloo legislator is in the first week of a 20 county in 20 day listening tour  and what she's hearing so far seemed positive. Two dozen people showed up for a mid-afternoon event, many staying the full two hours. Most were new faces, but longtime Linn County activists Harvey Ross and Norm Sterzenbach Sr. were also on hand.

Linn County is home to three potential Democratic primary rivals: former legislator Swati Dandekar, attorney Dave O'Brien, and city council member Monica Vernon. Rep. Pat Murphy is the lone Dubuque candidate, and Kajtazovic would be the only candidate from Black Hawk. Those three counties together make up about two-thirds of the district's vote.

At 26 Kajtazovic is half the age of her potential opponents, yet comes to politics with a compelling story and experience beyond her years. "With hard work you can make your dreams come true in America," she says; "I'm very lucky to get a second chance at life." And that resonates with a deeper meaning once you know Kajtazovic arrived in Waterloo at age 10 in 1997 from a refugee camp in Bosnia.


"Coming here as a refugee wasn't easy, but it was probably harder for my parents. When you're a kid you adjust. But when you arrive with limited English skills, and your diploma isn't worth anything, you take any job you can." Her parents took factory jobs, her father working two at times. Anesa's first involvement in policy was helping her mother navigate the health care system after a workplace injury.

Kajtazovic worked her way through UNI in three years with a double major. While there, she began her political involvement, interning for fellow Black Hawk County legislator Bob Kressig in 2006, and also helping the man she hopes to replace in Congress, Senate candidate Bruce Braley.

An unusual combination of circumstances led Kajtazovic to become a candidate herself in 2010. She didn't discuss the details, but I remember the back story well.

Republican Tami Weincek had upset longtime legislator Don Shoultz in the Democratic banner year of 2006, for one of the few GOP gains anywhere in the nation. Democrat Kerry Burt regained it in 2008, but quickly got mired in ethical issues. Privately Democrats unsuccessfully pushed Burt to step down. Republicans had recruited former Waterloo mayor John Rooff in anticipation of an easy pickup.

Kajtazovic was the only Democrat with the nerve to step in for a primary challenge to Burt. She quickly rallied support, and Burt bailed after the formal withdrawal deadline. Kajtazovic then went on to beat Rooff by almost 20 points in the worst Democratic year in two decades.

So, attn: anyone dismissing Kajtazovic's chances? She's heard it before. 

"I was told it was not possible for someone my age," said Kajtazovic, who at 23 became the youngest woman ever elected to the Iowa legislature. "There were a lot of doubts - 'can you handle that job?' I think I've more than handled it."


At the coffee shop, Kajtazovic and questioners focused on lunchbucket issues: jobs, education, and health care. "With Republicans, all they want to talk about is taxes," she said of her experience in the legislature. But a lot of the business community I've talked to, they want skilled workers."

One exception was the Edward Snowden/NSA issue, raised by a questioner. "It's obviously damaging and a concern," said Kajtazovic, adding that Congress should play a greater NSA oversight role. 

Kajtazovic plans a grass-roots campaign like the ones that have succeeded for her in Waterloo. "Some people in Washington DC and Des Moines think it's all about getting the right consultants. Give me a break. I completely disagree. It should all be about hard work, the person and their values."

Kajtazovic sees her age and atypical background as a strength. "A lot of people are looking for a new vision and new ideas. More and more people are feeling disenfranchised and disappointed. We're becoming more and more diverse and Washington needs to be more representative." These themes seem similar to the framework Cedar Rapids Rep. Tyler Olson is using is his campaign for governor, so it's likely that youth vs. experience, and the definition of "experience," will be on the minds of voters in both races.

"Diversity makes us stronger," Anesa Kajtazovic says, "but we have a long way to go." Hey, Iowa? Here's a good start.

He said WHAT?!?

Craig Robinson at The Iowa Republican buries the lede in literally the last sentence of a piece on a Monday candidate forum with the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition in Cedar Rapids:

(US Senate candidate David) Young said as a Senator, he would invite New York Senator Chuck Schumer to lunch so that he could share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Umm... what? He does know Schumer is Jewish, right? And he does know there's a long and somewhat unpleasant history surrounding such efforts at conversion, right?

Schools Out? (For Voting)

Twin articles in twin newspapers - the Iowa City Press-Citizen and the Des Moines Register - raise a question I hear often: Should schools be polling places?

For the few who don't know, I work for the Johnson County Auditor, so here's a little inside perspective the articles left out.

Under present law, schools and other public buildings are required to allow polling places. Laws can change. Laws can change so much that you don't even HAVE polling places. In Oregon, they just mail everyone a ballot. In other states voting is consolidated into a few large "vote centers."

The law also says schools and other public buildings are required to allow caucuses. Caucuses are not elections, they are meetings run by political parties. They also don't have the same child safety concerns, because they're held outside school hours. Caucus sites change a lot from year to year, depending on which party expects to have a busy season. Historically the parties work together well on this. In 2004, the Republicans were largely content to give Democrats the bigger rooms; Dems returned the favor in 2012.

Relatively few buildings are suitable to be polling places. They need to be in or at the worst very very near to the residential areas where the voters are. They need long-term stability, so Random Retail Space is a problem if the business closes or opens. They need parking. The hardest part, they need accessibility even above and beyond Americans with Disability Act standards.The hardest one, and the one that led to polling place changes in 2006, is parking. There has to be a van accessible handicapped space that - this is the tough part - does not require the voter to exit the vehicle into traffic.

That's why, despite a major remodeling to improve accessibility within the hall, we had to move Iowa City Precinct 5 from Burge Residence Hall to the UI Library. Yes, even though almost no voters in the precinct would drive to the polls, and even though the precinct's largest group of population is inside the building.

The other buildings that are most likely to have the combination of space, parking, handicapped accessibility, and location in or near residential areas are churches. In the People's Republic Of Johnson County at least that draws more complaints than schools. A church can't leave electioneering materials up, same as any other polling place. But if the pastor is loudly saying your marriage is a sin and an abomination on Sunday, do you really want to vote there Tuesday?

The polling place issue goes hand in hand with the precinct boundary issue. Precinct lines are done every 10 years and now can't be changed until the 2020 census. Legally, city councils and the county board of supervisors are in charge of their lines. As a practical matter, auditors are deeply involved.

I was on the reprecincting team in 2001 and 2011. Most of our precinct lines this decade are better than last decade, except on the far west side of Iowa City where a fourth precinct should have been added. (Important to remember: since reprecincting and the present discussion, Johnson County has had a change in auditors.)

The law has some exacting standards here, too. Precincts can't exceed 3500 in census population. That 3500 includes non-citizens and children. Below that 3500 the population standards are less exact than for legislative districts. We're allowed, for example, to look at growth and voter turnout patterns. By the end of the 2000s decade Johnson County's largest precinct in North Liberty had 34 times the voters of the smallest rural precinct. In 2011 we closed that gap by splitting the largest precincts, as required, and consolidating some of the smallest (over the objection of the former auditor). The largest precinct, Iowa City 19, is now just seven times the size of the smallest, rural Graham Township.

Sometimes the precinct lines lead to polling place decisions that don't seem to make sense. Why, for example, are there two polling places in the lovely but small city of Hills? Because a legislative district line chopped Hills off from the surrounding townships. That's another requirement of the law - we can't cross district lines. So that required a separate precinct for the city of Hills and another for rural Liberty and Pleasant Valley (one of the small rurals we consolidated). It's possible to have two precincts vote in one building, which we're considering in Hills and which we already do in North Liberty.

The precinct lines also cause issues when picking new polling places - because in many cases we worked around the existing long standing polling places. We had a lot of trouble in the 2000s decade in one precinct - which in 2007 became MY precinct - due to different facilities tossing us out. By decade's end we were in a far corner and would have been happier with very different lines.

Superintendent Steve Murley made it fairly clear in the Press-Citizen that the two main targets for moving are Lincoln (Iowa City 4) and Shimek (Iowa City 22). Those two happen to border each other on the Peninsula. They also happen to be the two where it's hardest to explain to a voter how to get there. Also note: the decision to move a polling place has nothing to do with the decision to keep a school open. If we wind up moving voting out of Lincoln or Hills it does not not NOT mean those schools are getting closed!

One more thing: Every election day I'm answering the Where Do I Vote question all day. A lot of people have a concept that you vote one place for "big" elections and another for "small" ones. Not quite. Assuming you don't move, you keep voting at the same place for all elections except school elections. The school districts get billed for their elections so they have the choice to combine precincts. Since the single biggest expense of elections is paying workers (no, they're not "volunteers," the law actually says you HAVE to pay them) the districts usually combine sites. As for the rest, you vote the same place for a low turnout city primary as you do for president.

This by no means answers every question. Travis Weipert and the rest of us are more than happy to take suggestions or answer questions. The precinct maps and polling places are available here.

Labor, Treasurer Set Up Recycling Box

Something cool and useful to look at on your next trip to the county administration building: this box for recycling your old license plates.

It's modeled on a mail box, and located where the mail box used to be (that's been moved around the corner). You can drop your old plates off 24/7. You don't really need them in the garage, and if they get in the wrong hands they might be used for Bad Things.

Patrick Hughes, president of the Iowa City Federation of Labor, had been coming to the Admin Building for years to help recycle the old plates. He and Royce Peterson of the Carpenters union installed the box, which is decorated with some of the more colorful plates collected over the years. "Idaho - Famous Potatoes" is my favorite. Royce and Pat, and Treasurer Tom Kriz, deserve a hand for this.

Ernst, Old White Guy Announce

Joni Ernst's long rumored now official entry into the US Senate race probably completes the field of serious Republican contenders in that race. (Of course, it's possible to win a GOP primary - or convention? - without being serious.)

It also puts more pressure on Democrats to nominate a female candidate for one of the top-tier congressional races. It's impossible to overstate just how big a deal it is to Democratic activists that Iowa is alone with Mississippi - MISSISSIPPI! - in having never elected a female governor or member of Congress. And it would make us absolutely bonkers if Iowa finally broke that barrier with a Republican. And the best bet for a Democratic woman is in the 1st CD, and of the three women in that race you know which one I'd like to see get it.

In response, another old white guy, Cedar Rapids attorney Dave O’Brien, got into the Democratic race in the 1st CD. He ran a long-ago race in the 6th CD - yes, two more districts than we have now - losing to Gopher Grandy in `88. The press release email came to me from a Link Strategies email address, usually a sign that the campaign won't be a shoestring operation.

Anyone else notice how Bruce Braley instantly and effectively united the party and cleared the field? Compared to, pic a name at random Pat Murphy, who's seen FOUR rivals jump in now since he announced?

Also note that if everyone follows through in the 1st, you're looking at three Linn County candidates, one from Dubuque, and one from Black Hawk.

While we're at it with the Ernst announcement, there was kvetching in the Twittersphere and what's left of the blogosphere about the Democratic Party being "too negative" toward the GOP candidates when a press release labeled her "establishment approved." Complaints about negative campaigning have existed since Ogg and Ugg ran against each other for chief of the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer tribe in One Million BC: "Ugg? More like Ugg-Ly. Me Ogg, me approve this message."

You know what would stop negativity? If it stopped working.

First candidate in Senate 39

I knew Michael Moore had crossed over to the GOP to endorse Alan Keyes in the mosh pit, but what's this I hear about him running for the Iowa Senate as a Republican?




What? Wrong guy?

A very different Michael Moore is the first Republican candidate in open, evenly split Senate District 39, where GOP incumbent Sandy Greiner announced her retirement recently.

This Michael Moore, 66, doesn't have an Oscar but he IS the CEO of the United Presbyterian Home in Washington and a former Washington city council and school board member.

Moore's campaigning in the northern, Johnson County half of the district Sunday at a birthday fundraiser for supervisor John Etheredge. (The birthday is number 29; in my shock at John's partisan breakthrough in the March election I forgot to note his other achievement: he broke the record for our youngest supervisor. Terrence Neuzil was 30 when he won his first term in 2000.) Also expected: congressional candidate Mark Lofgren and Senate candidate David Young. That's the Grassley staffer guy, not the radio guy or the football guy or the other guy.

Senate 39 is exactly half in Johnson County, covering the west and south part of the county and including North Liberty and Tiffin. Democrat Sally Stutsman has that House seat. The south half of the district is most of Washington County and all of Keokuk County. Republican Jarad Klein holds that house seat and has announced he is not seeking the Senate seat.

The party registration is close but there's no electoral track record yet for this new district. The old district, where Greiner beat Democrat Becky Schmitz in 2010, went further south and included a smaller part of Johnson. Greiner then held over in 2012.

Generational Theme Developing For Primary

A generational theme is emerging in more than one Iowa Democratic primary next year as state Rep. Tyler Olson, in his fourth legislative term at age 37, announced for governor today, first in his native Cedar Rapids followed by Des Moines and Mason City stops.

His "new generation of leaders" theme and references at looking to the next 30 years rather than the last 30, is a contrast to Republican Terry Branstad, first elected in 1982 at roughly Olson's current age, now serving a fifth non-consecutive term, and hoping to break the all-time national record with a sixth next year.

But Olson's new leadership theme also has a primary election meaning against his main rival, Jack Hatch. The Des Moines state senator has been a fixture of state politics for a quarter century in two stints in the legislature, an unsuccessful congressional campaign, and service on Tom Harkin's staff. (For fairness and completeness: former legislator Bob Krause, who ran way back in the 2010 Senate primary, is also running; he's also in his 60s.)

The generational theme can't help but ripple into the 1st Congressional District race. Anesa Kajtazovic of Waterloo, in her second legislative term at just 26, announced over the weekend she's exploring a run. The other Democrats are all twice her age: Pat Murphy is 53, Monica Vernon 55, and Swati Dandekar 61.

Tangent: While Sarah Palin is hinting at a Senate run - because unless she's hinting at running for something people lose interest - Swati Dandekar took a page from the Palin playbook by, for the second time, quitting her job mid-term.

And likewise the Congressional primary ripples into the gubernatorial primary. While the 1st CD, which includes Olson's Cedar Rapids base, looks to be hot in both parties, the 3rd CD race is less exciting. Former Sen. Staci Appel is clearly the insider pick over Some Dude Gabriel De La Cerda, who offered this late last night:

For several months I have awaited an opponent at the chess board, welcome to the table. My moves will be unorthodox enjoy the show #IA03
— Gabriel De La Cerda (@GabeDLC2DC) July 8, 2013

O-kay. Speaking of the Screwy Some Dude Department, a new entry on the Republican Senate race gets an awkward start. Doug Burns:

Scott Schaben of Ames says he plans to run for the U.S. Senate in the November 2014 election.

He would join a developing field of Republicans seeking to take on U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo.

"I'm going to set this race on fire," Schaben said in an interview.

"They're going to know Scott Schaben."

Schaben's own family would bring racial diversity to the GOP, he said, noting that his wife, Latoja, an assistant coach for the Iowa State University women's basketball team, is African American.

"Let's see Bruce Braley paint me as a racist with a black wife," Schaben said.

Not the first Republican leader to make the same argument recently. Still, both better than Rand Paul's neo-Confederate staffer.

Anyway, tangent over. Point is the 1st CD primary will help turnout in Olson's turf more than the 3rd District primary will help Hatch.

Social media, home of the young and to those too old to be cool but to young not to care, seems more excited about Kajtazovic and Olson than the other candidates. (For the record I was more all like this.) But a fair warning to both candidates: the timing of a June primary makes a student/youth turnout effort, always challenging, even harder.

If either or both Olson or Kajtazovic pull off a win next November, it's a big change of image for Iowa, which is demographically one of the oldest states. And, it's been noted: since Iowa's national profile is too often defined by Steve King's anti-immigrant rhetoric, Anesa Kajtazovic would be a nice rebuttal from our side of the state.

Olson pick up some quick endorsements from leading Democrats. Ex-Iowa Democratic Party chair Sue Dvorsky said she was "enthusiastically and all in." Senator Rob Hogg is to be understood; Olson took over his House seat in `06 when Hogg moved to the Senate.

But most interesting was Senator Janet Peterson: not just a Senate colleague of Hatch, but a fellow Polk County legislator. (Though she served much longer with Olson in the House.)

Hatch quickly countered with actual issues, in this case his signature health care issue. He's calling on Wellmark to return money from $1.3 billion in reserves. But when steered toward the Olson announcement, he said "it’s Democrats’ job to choose the most experienced and 'articulate' candidate."

"I think in order to be a CEO of a state, experience helps," he said. It's the card he has to play in a primary against Olson, but you could easily hear Branstad repeating that line back in the fall.

With Olson in, the only real heavyweight yet to be heard from is Mike Gronstal. Word is and odds the Senate majority leader stays out. The joke is why would "Governor Gronstal" take the step down, but as with many jokes there's a lot of truth there.

So, Democrats. For the governor's race, two good candidates. For the 1st CD: one awful candidate trying to cross back over a bridge she just burned, one OK candidate who we just picked up on waivers from the other team, one more Old White Guy Like Me... and a chance to do something really special.

Losing Your Shirts

It's the right thing to do but still funny in a schadenfruede way: They literally sent the surplus Romney-Ryan shirts to children in Africa since they're worth about as much as the Zimbabwe dollar. It seems they do the same for the team that loses the championship, too. I'm not sure which pic warms my heart more:

This one...



or this one.



In all my excitement over Anesa Kajtazovic, I failed to note another congressional development: Democrat Staci Appel is taking another look at challenging Tom Latham, after exploring and then declining this spring. Republicans are bashing her already for changing her mind, but she's a better get for the Dems than the only other announced candidate, Some Dude Gabriel De La Cerda. Appel served one Senate term before losing to Kent Sorenson in 2010, but the way things are going for Sorenson, voters likely have some regrets...

In the No Surprise department:

Happy to announce that I am running for Iowa State Representative of District 91!!
— Emily Lofgren (@EmilyLofgren) July 8, 2013

Just as I predicted as soon as her dad, HD91 incumbent Mark Lofgren, announced his challenge to Dave Loebsack. In retrospect, the speedy announcement by Muscatine city council member Mark LeRette that HE was seeking the GOP nod in 91 looks like a failed attempt at a pre-emptive strike. So voters can either keep the Mark or keep the Lofgren. OR they can do what they should have done last time, because Democrat John "We Got" Dabeet is running again.

Daughter's candidacy puts Dad in a bit of a bind. Obviously no one would fault Mark Lofgren for supporting Emily; it was even rumored that he was not happy in the legislature and was considering a last-minute switcheroo in 2012. And Emily certainly has party credentials of her own; you know I'm all about those young candidates.

But if the elder Lofgren comes on too strong he risks alienating the LeRette supporters he'll need in the fall. And if LeRette wins, it's kind of a no-confidence vote in the Lofgren brand by his core constituents. My bet is LeRette is getting maneuvered out even now; newly elected Democratic senator Chris Brase will be high on the target list in 2016.

From: Terry Branstad
To: Kim Reynolds
Re: You're Not Helping

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds today said she and Governor Branstad have an “ambitious schedule” and the state troopers who drive them around the state sometimes have to speed to make up time.

“Even…with this great job our scheduler does, it’s sometimes hard to leave these events and you run behind,” Reynolds said during a statehouse news conference.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Safety released the details of an incident in late April in which Branstad and Reynolds were in a vehicle being driven by a state trooper that was clocked going 84 miles an hour on Highway 20...

And on today of all days, when Terry announced that he was... not yet announcing but that he would be announcing. Only thing I hate worse is when they "announce" after they've filed.

Tyler Olson announced that he would be announcing... something... tomorrow. One look at the itinerary - Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Mason City - and it's clearly governor rather than 2nd CD.

And with Steve King continuing to rant No Amnesty on a near hourly basis it's important to remember that the left can push back on immigration, too. How about No Berlin Wall?

Run Anesa Run

Now THIS was what I was looking for in the 1st District. The most exciting news since the Tom Harkin retirement:

State Rep. Anesa Kajtazovic of Waterloo has joined the field, announcing Sunday that she’s forming an exploratory committee. She plans to tour the 20-county 1^st District to meet with voters before deciding whether to enter the June 2014 Democratic primary election.

The hints were there. The necessary precondition of Sen. Jeff Danielson opting out had happened. Then on Wednesday, this tweet:

"Sometimes the riskiest decision we make can turn out to be the best" a friend once told me......
— Anesa Kajtazovic (@AnesaKajtazovic) July 3, 2013

No guts no glory? Worked for Kajtazovic before. Don't forget she got into her 2010 race as a primary challenger. Everyone was privately hoping and praying the scandal-hobbled Kerry Burt would go quietly, but only Anesa had the nerve to get into the race.  (Burt later quit after the dropout deadline and Kajtazovic crushed him 91% - 9%.)

Kajtazovic also showed up last week at a parade in Toledo - well outside her Waterloo House seat.

Two candidates — Rep. Pat Murphy of Dubuque and Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon – already are running for the nomination to the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who is running for the Senate.

Another two Democrats – former state lawmaker Swati Dandekar of Marion, now a member of the Iowa Utilities Board, and Cedar Rapids attorney Dave O’Brien – are considering the race.

I want to get Iowa out of the no-women club with Mississippi, so I crossed Murphy off right away. Even leaving that out, failing to control the Six Pack of conservaDems in 2007-2010, leaving 30 seats without candidates and losing control of the House in `10,  and almost losing his own safe Democratic seat are all weak recommendations.

Dandekar burned all her bridges by quitting her seat and risking Senate control in 2011 to take a six figure job with Terry Branstad. Unless she raises big non-Iowa money, I can see her not even getting in.

Vernon seemed OK as a fallback female candidate, but that relatively recent (2009) change from the GOP bothers some activists. Kajtazovic has been a legislator longer than Vernon has been a Democrat. Welcome aboard, Monica, but have you earned a shot straight to the top?

Compared to these folks, Kajtazovic is a rock star. She was on the ground floor with Bruce Braley in his first race. She's the only Waterloo candidate. She's got a great story. She'll be exciting to young voters. The ethnic factor helps - Wateloo's Bosnian community is a bigger deal politically than Dandekar's south Asian community.

If Anesa Kajtazovic follows through, and I really really hope she does, Iowa's 1st CD will be one of the most watched races in the country.

Here's how yesterday REALLY went

Based on my traffic count and Reddit karma I should switch this blog away from politics and toward Hollywood gossip. But since I've already snapped the one actual Iowa celebrity, I'll stick to what I know.

The A list stars of Iowa politics were in Coralville for the July 4 parade. Bruce Braley and Dave Loebsack shook hands most of the route yet managed to keep up with the parade crew of over 150. (Usually we develop an unseemly gap in mid-parade that stretched to about a block by the end.)



Also on hand, Iowa's next governor, pictured above at the post-parade party at Casa Dvorsky. The dual appearance of Tyler Olson, set to announce soon, and the already in Jack Hatch underscores Johnson County's importance in next year's primary. 

Secretary of State candidate Brad Anderson was also with us for Coralville, along with a loooong list of local candidates and electeds. Many more pix via Facebook; if you were there and want a particular shot let me know.



Rod Sullivan and Joe Bolkcom at the end of a very long day. After Coralville, the die-hards went to Oxford - which you all heard about - and Hills. The three parade honor roll (I think I have everyone): Janelle Rettig & Robin Butler, Rod Sullivan & Melissa Fath, John Stimmel,
Mary Mascher, Sally Stutsman (who covered Sharon Center while the rest of us were at Coralville), and Mike Carberry.

A Kutcher-Kunis Homecoming

I am now officially Hollywood paparrazi and I didn't even have to leave the county.

Hometown boy Ashton Kutcher and fiancee/former co-star Mila Kunis were in a monster truck at the Oxford Parade today. Kutcher threw candy while Kunis drove.

Kutcher exchanged some brief hellos with the local Democrats, as we happened to line up just in front of him.




And here I though our big celebrity of the day was gonna be Bruce Braley. (Those are next)

Parademania!

Anybody want to do some walking tomorrow?

Please Join the JCDems and our very SPECIAL guests on July 4th at 10 AM (parade starts at 11) for the Freedom Fest Parade in Coralville.  We will be meeting in the Geico parking lot.  We will be towards the beginning - Congressman Braley is 22A, JC Dems is 22B and Janelle Rettig is 22C

But really just one big bunch of Dems.

Special Guest Marchers include U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack, U.S. Congressman Bruce Braley candidate for U.S. Senate, State Senator Jack Hatch, State Representative Tyler Olson

that should be interesting slash awkward...

and Candidate Brad Anderson candidate for Iowa Secretary of State.  There will also be our JCDems Elected Officials.

If you are unable to march in the parade we will have a float that you can ride on - so no excuses if you are in town!

    Wear your favorite Democrat shirt or Blue to show your JC Dem Pride!

    Electeds will bring signs but if you have them you can bring your own as well as flags to march with.

    IF YOU NEED A RIDE - please send an email to info@jcdems.org and we will work to get you one. 

 And after and only after you walk:

Join Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack, Brad Anderson, Tyler Olson and Jack Hatch at Senator Bob (and Sue's) Dvorsky's for lunch, a cold beverage, and great political conversation at 412 6th St Coralville! Invite your friends, but your "ticket" to get in is to join us at 10:00 AM to march in the Coralville FourthFest Parade.

So lunch but not a free lunch.

We're just getting warmed up:

Oxford, IA
2 PM Line-up at Lions Park
3 PM Parade starts

Hills, IA
Line-up at 4 PM
Parade at 5:30 PM

Hmm. Both in or near the newly open Senate District 39... will a Mystery CandiDate appear???

Steve King vs. Some Dude

As a good little donkey I should be more excited that Boone veteran and ex-Pentagon official Jim Mowrer has just Officially announced that he's challenging Steve King next year.

But after having my hopes falsely raised and then dashed by Christie Vilsack's failure last year, I just can't get into this announcement, conveniently timed just AFTER the campaign finance report filing deadline.

Don't get me wrong. If I lived in the 4th District I'd happily vote for Jim. He looks like a guy who can hold the party's base vote and, against the extremist King, win over some independents. There's something to be said for the ole Howard Dean 50 State Strategy of running everywhere to build the party. Mowrer will be an asset to the Democratic ticket in a quarter of the state where the game isn't about winning as much as it's about cutting your losses.

But don't anyone pretend, as Jim Mowrer says in the inevitable fund raising email, "that we are going to stand united and strong to win next November."

I'll just let Steve say it himself:  “I faced $7 million, the best of everything Democrats can throw at me, their dream candidate and everything that can come from the Obama machine, and prevailed through all of that with 55 percent of my district that was new.” If Christie Vilsack, in the Democrat friendly cycle of 2012, couldn't beat King, it won't happen.

It won't happen in a primary either. King was even paired up in redistricting, but it was Tom Latham who moved rather than King. There's no room on King's right for a primary challenge and no critical mass in any Republican primary anymore for a challenge from the center.

Steve King was recently voted by Democrats the "most clueless member of Congress." As the great philosopher Alicia Silverstone once said, WhatEVer. King's smart enough to stay put in a safe red House seat, smart enough to resist the begging of the Republican base to run for Senate.

King says a lot of things that are extreme, sure, but that's different than "clueless" statements, like the Texas legislator who seems to believe a "rape kit" is emergency contraception rather than evidence collection, or Alaska's Don Young dropping a "wetback" bomb. Somehow Steve never quite makes that kind of error. He makes you fill in the gaps yourself.

It's bloody clear that King's "Rule Of Law" and "No Amnesty" rhetoric on immigration reform is dog whistle code for the mass deportation of 11 million undocumented Americans, as a means to the end of a mono-cultural mono-lingual Don't Make Me Press 1 For English America. But he never quite says it. He's smart enough not to unleash the shitstorm of politically correct righteous indignation that would descend on him.

His supporters know what he really means. They're not dumb, either. Narrow-minded in many cases, perhaps even bigoted, but smart enough to know what you're not supposed to say, and maybe a little more cautious post-Paula Deen. Indeed, King's elliptical strategy probably makes them feel smarter just because they're left to figure it out themselves.

In both his decision to stay put and his ability to keep his rhetoric close to but not quite outside the limits, King has proven himself smarter than the Todd Akins and Richard Mourdocks and Sharron Angles, Republicans  who have lost races their parties should have won, the kinds of races Democrats need to have a Jim Mowrer type ready for just in case someone says or does something stupid.

Sure, lefties, you hate Steve King so much that you want to put your money into it. That instinct funded the lost causes of Rob Hubler in 2008 and Matt Campbell in 2010. The triage of politics is cruel. Even in the post Citizens United era, resources are finite. Every dollar given to a great guy running against an evil SOB in an unwinnable district is a dollar that doesn't go to a close legislative race.

As a young candidate taking on a big task, and as this post proves a thankless task, Mowrer may have a good future ahead. Paul Shomshor went on to four legislative terms after losing to King in 2002. So go ahead and send that money if you want, but understand that it's a long-range investment that won't pay off in 2014.