A New York Times article this week listed Iowa's 2010 gubernatorial race as one of eight "highly competitive races" in the nation.
The competition continues to grow in the Republican primary, as state Representative Rod Roberts (R-Carroll) announced the creation of his exploratory committee for governor to about 100 people in a Statehouse conference room. Roberts, 51, promoted himself as a "new face" and as a fiscal and social conservative who is friendly and approachable.
He has been in the legislature for nine years and is the fifth Republican to form an exploratory committee. The others are Christian Fong of Cedar Rapids, Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton, Representative Christopher Rants of Sioux City, and Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City. Senator Jerry Behn of Boone is also expected to form his committee soon.
"Incumbency is the single greatest asset a candidate has ... , particularly if you're in Iowa," Robert said. "Very important. However, when you look toward the future, there seems to be an opportunity for Republicans next year," Roberts said. "It will not be easy to defeat Governor Culver, but it is possible to defeat Governor Culver."
Roberts said that "I will be careful with your money as I am with my money, and I am very careful with my money. I also believe in protecting the life of the unborn. I also believe in the traditional definition of marriage."
Five of the candidates -- all except McKinley -- took part Wednesday in an IowaPolitics.com forum at Drake University that drew a capacity crowd of about 100 that included representatives from the state's major media outlets, plus several legislators, former Governor Robert Ray, other key Republicans, and even a few Democrats.
Roberts broke from the four other Republican gubernatorial candidates at the forum, saying he "would not support the reinstatement of the death penalty in Iowa" and "life in prison without chance of parole is a just punishment for murder."
Most of the candidates had harsh criticism of the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, with Vander Plaats saying he would not exempt casinos from the law. All of the potential candidates said the ban would not be one of their top priorities, and they would have little control over changing or striking the law.
"It's very difficult to undo public policy like that, as significant as that public smoking-ban legislation was," Roberts said. "In my opinion, it is settled. I would not at this point in time, as we have this forum this afternoon, see any reason to repeal that. As spirited as the debate was, and as heated as the points of view were on that, that matter has been settled."
The candidates were uniformly opposed to an expansion of gambling. Rants expressed doubt that the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission would recommend expansion of the casino industry in the state. "I think there will be cannibalizing of the existing markets," he said.
Several observers noted that Fong, 32, who announced this week that he's raised $100,000 in the three weeks since he declared his candidacy, performed well in his first time sharing the stage with so many of his GOP rivals.
"He's the youngest in the group, and his experience lies in the private sector," said Ed Failor Jr. of Iowans for Tax Relief. "I think he showed very substantial knowledge of state issues and the ability to perceive problems at the state level. And Christopher Rants is just really good in that format. He's very intelligent, and he understands the details very well and articulates them well."
With five and soon to be six Republicans in the race, Democrats stepped up their attacks this week. "The Democratic Party in Iowa is now just waiting for the seventh dwarf to enter the race," Iowa Democratic Party Chair Michael Kiernan quipped. "The Republicans are really struggling to find a first-tier candidate here."
Waterloo Lawmaker Under Fire for Underpaying Tuition
State Representative Kerry Burt (D-Waterloo) was already facing a charge of drunken driving, but this past week he was criticized after a special investigation by the state auditor's office showed he used a false address to avoid paying $37,139 in fees to the Malcolm Price Laboratory School.
Burt could be removed from office if he's convicted of felony in either his drunken-driving case or in the criminal investigation involving the Price Lab School.
The 51-page special investigation by State Auditor David Vaudt showed that Burt was among nine families who reported an incorrect address, contributing to $255,889.39 in uncollected fees between July 1, 2006, and March 31, 2009. The investigation showed that Burt and his children never resided at the address provided to school officials.
"I'm very concerned about the alleged wrongdoings involved," Culver said. "I think everyone deserves their fair and due process, but yeah, this is a real concern that needs to be investigated thoroughly. Any and all responsible for doing anything wrong should be held accountable."
Republican Party of Iowa Chair Matt Strawn and two county GOP chairs called for Burt to resign, saying the accusations call into question his fitness for office. Strawn also called on Burt to repay the tuition fees.
"Representative Burt's blatant effort to mislead school officials and secure benefits to which he was not entitled clearly indicates a lack of respect for the very laws to which he has been elected to provide oversight," Strawn said.
House Speaker Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque) said he would support Burt and would "stand behind him at this point."
Burt did not return calls from the media this week seeking comment.
Burt is scheduled to stand trial August 24 in Polk County District Court on a charge that he drove drunk just before 2 a.m. February 11 in Ankeny. A breath test showed Burt's blood-alcohol content was .129, above the state's .08 limit. He lost both his license and his job as a Waterloo firefighter.
Meanwhile, copies of the report on the Price Lab School case have been filed with the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Black Hawk County Attorney's Office, and the Iowa attorney general's office, which is serving as the prosecutor in the case.
Public Hearings to Be Held on Medical Marijuana
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously this week to hold a series of public hearings across the state to receive testimony and evidence on the use of medical marijuana.
Four meetings, scheduled to last four hours each, will be held beginning in August and ending in November, board Executive Director Lloyd Jessen said. The meetings will be held in Des Moines, Iowa City, Council Bluffs, and Mason City, before a recommendation is made to the 2010 legislature.
"At the end of November the board would meet to summarize their findings and hopefully make whatever recommendation they choose to make," Jessen said.
Board member Margaret Whitworth of Cedar Rapids stressed the need for the public to be allowed to comment on "an issue that has attracted and continues to attract a good deal of attention." Along with members of the public, the plan calls for doctors, patients, law enforcement, educators, and others to provide testimony at the public hearings.
"We do want to operate in a very open way, invite opportunities for everyone -- those who may have academic or professional credentials, certainly, but also rank-and-file citizens of the state," Whitworth said.
Supporters of legalizing marijuana for medical use -- including Iowa Civil Liberties Union lawyer Randall Wilson and Senator Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) -- praised the decision to hold public meetings.
"I hope that the board is indeed serious about this process, and [that] this is not just a way to deflect criticism of its inaction," Wilson said.
But Representative Clel Baudler (R-Greenfield), a retired state trooper, called the idea of medical marijuana "the nose of the camel under the tent for total legalization of marijuana. ... When I look at what's happening in California, I fear that I would not want to live in a state that is like California in how they look at medical marijuana, where 15-year-olds are getting it and people who have a registration card can smoke in restaurants or on a beach where you can't smoke a regular cigarette."
U.S. Senate Won't Meet Health-Care Reform Deadline
The rush to approve health-care-reform legislation in Congress hit a bump this week, with conservative Democrats putting the brakes on a bill in the House of Representatives and the top Democrat in the Senate announcing that there would not be any votes on an overhaul before members adjourn for the month-long August recess.
However, health-care reform is not dead.
In the Senate, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continued his negotiations in the Finance Committee, where he serves as the top Republican, in search of a bipartisan deal. The six negotiators in the Finance Committee is composed of senators who represent mostly rural states: Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Montona), Democratic Sensators Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico) and Kent Conrad (North Dakota), and Republicans Grassley, Mike Enzi (Wyoming), and Olympia Snowe (Maine).
Baucus declined Thursday to estimate when the "gang of six" would reach an agreement. But with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announcing that no vote on a reform bill was planned before August 7, when the Senate is scheduled to leave town for its summer break, there was a slight decrease in the pressure for the Finance Committee negotiators to unveil a bill.
"I've always said -- and nothing's changed -- we're ready when we're ready," Baucus told reporters on Thursday. "And, I'm doing my best to move that along as quickly as we possibly can."
However, the group, including Grassley, was behind closed doors again late Thursday afternoon in an effort to make headway toward a bipartisan agreement. According to Republican sources, Grassley briefed his fellow Republicans on Wednesday, and told them there were several issues left to be resolved and that no deal is in place -- not even a framework.
Meanwhile, Baucus made clear Thursday that no deal by the group would be binding. Baucus said that he would run the agreement by the other Democrats on the Finance Committee to see if it is acceptable to them, and that Grassley would be responsible for discussing any such agreement with the panel's other Republicans.
If Finance Committee agrees to a bill, it would still need to be merged with legislation that passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee on a party-line vote, with all Democrats supporting and all Republicans opposed. Both Grassley and Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) have expressed concern that a merger might decimate the health-care priorities they hold dear.
The U.S. House is still attempting to mark up a bill and hold votes prior to the August recess -- the chamber is scheduled to adjourn on July 31 - but Democratic leaders are mired in a disagreement with moderate and conservative Democrats.
Many of these Democrats, elected over the past four years in Republican-leaning districts, are worried that a health-care-reform bill that is too far to the left could spell disaster for them in the 2010 midterm elections. Among their concerns is the cost of the bill, how much it could add to the federal deficit, and the tax hikes proposed to fund it.
Additionally, there is a disagreement among conservative Democrats and those who lean left over the government-run-insurance option. Centrist Democrats are generally opposed to a government-run insurance option; liberal Democrats, including a caucus of "populist" Democrats led by U.S. Representative Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo), are demanding inclusion of a government-run insurance option.
These disagreements could push a vote on a health-care bill in the House to the fall, just as they did in the Senate.
Iowa Teachers, Contractors Top List for PAC Fundraising
State political action committees for Iowa teachers, general contractors, credit unions, and bankers raised the most money in the first six months of this year, according to an IowaPolitics.com analysis of 227 campaign-finance reports filed with the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board and available online.
The Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) topped the list, having raised $204,072 between January 1 and June 30 this year. Next came the Associated General Contractors of Iowa with $187,851. Third came the Credit Union PAC with $100,933, followed by Bankers Unite in Legislative Decisions, which raised $84,205.
The ISEA's campaign-finance report includes 12 pages of contributions. Most of the money -- $199,335 -- was not itemized because contributions came from payroll deductions. Many of the others listed donated $25 each. There were a few larger donations of $100 or $125, while $1,235 came from something called "Pass the Hat."
The statewide teachers union leans Democratic, represents 34,000 educators, and is always a strong force at the Capitol. While there was no major piece of education policy approved this past year, the union fights every year for a strong allowable growth -- or per-pupil spending authority -- and also fought this year to preserve teacher pay during the budget shortfall.
A dozen other state PACs followed the top four by raising between $31,000 to $43,000 in the past six months, including those representing doctors, Realtors, insurance agents, engineers, long-term care providers, laborers, and plumbers.
The Iowa campaign fund of the Service Employees International Union has the largest campaign war chest, with $252,511 left to spend. The organization, however, raised no money during the first six months of this year.
Iowans for Tax Relief, which leans Republican, earlier this year launched a statewide campaign to fight a legislative effort to repeal federal-income-tax deductibility. It listed 54 pages of contributions from across the state ranging from $3 to $2,000 in the first six months of the year. The group's chair, David Stanley of Muscatine, and his wife each contributed $900. The group's finance chair, Peter Vorhees, gave $2,000.
See the 227 campaign finance reports at https://webapp.iecdb.iowa.gov/PublicView/?d=statewide%2f2009%2fPeriod_Due_Date_19-Jul%2fPACs.
See IowaPolitics.com spreadsheets with financial data from state PACs sorted by money raised and reported cash on hand at IowaPolitics.com/index.iml?Article=165299.
This weekly summary comes from IowaPolitics.com, an online government and politics news service. IowaPolitics.com staff contributed to this report.
