DES MOINES - Senator Rita Hart has filed the official nomination papers with the Iowa Secretary of State to seek re-election to the Iowa State Senate in District 49. District 49 includes all of Clinton County, as well as northern and eastern Scott County, including the towns of Le Claire, McCausland, Park View and Princeton.

"My favorite part of being a state senator is talking with the people in District 49 and helping them solve problems," said Hart. "I'm glad to get the official paperwork out of the way and now I look forward to contacting voters across my district."

Hart added: "We've been holding legislative listening posts and economic development forums since January to gather input on the issues facing the Iowa Legislature this year. I plan to continue visiting the communities of Senate District 49 throughout the spring, summer and fall, listening to the concerns, questions and ideas of eastern Iowans."

Rita Hart was a teacher for over twenty years before she ran for the Iowa Senate. In the Senate, Hart serves on the Education, Economic Growth, Agriculture, Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committees. Senator Hart is also the Vice Chair of the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Hart was first elected to the State Senate from District 49 in 2012. She was elected to a two-year term.

Rita Hart is 57. She and her husband Paul live and farm in rural Wheatland. They have five children and are active members of St. Ann's Catholic Church near Long Grove.

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by Alfredo Parrish

Having been nurtured by some of our country's greatest advocates of voter enfranchisement, I am deeply disappointed with the two recent rulings of the district and Iowa Supreme Court denying Mr. Narcisse an opportunity to appear as a candidate for Governor in the Democratic Primary.  Iowa's history of enfranchisement is a cornerstone of its uniqueness.  Rules and procedures that are not equally applied to all candidates seeking office diminish the process. It creates cynicism that will weaken a vibrant democratic process.

Although, the judicial system denied Mr. Narcisse a place on the Democratic Primary ballot, it is encouraging that recognition was given to the importance of his claim by considering and deciding his case promptly.

Mr. Narcisse, in his law suit asked to court to consider a fair and impartial review of a candidate's nomination papers, an equitable rule for all candidates and distinguishing technical violations from substantive ones.  Mr. Narcisse's law suit pointed to clear deficiencies in the nomination process that will lay the groundwork for needed improvements.

Access to the Democratic Governor Primary Ballot at Stake

DES MOINES, IOWA | March 29, 2014 - On Friday, March 28, the Iowa Supreme Court granted Jonathan Narcisse's motion for expedited appeal of the District Court's refusal to reverse the Secretary of State's denial of Narcisse accessing the June 3^rd Primary ballot for Democratic governor nomination.

Three Iowa Supreme Court justices, Wiggins, Hecht and Mansfield, will hear the appeal and parties have until noon on Monday, March 31^st to submit their briefs. Narcisse was denied ballot access due to technical errors on three petition pages submitted to the Secretary of States' office on March 15^th.

On March 27^th the Iowa District Court in Polk County refused to allow any of Narcisse's exhibits as evidence in his effort to gain ballot access, citing both affidavits from Narcisse petitioners and a 2012 "Conclusion of Law" from Secretary Schultz and Attorney General Miller, as inadmissible. The District Court cited an Arizona ruling on election law as support for calling Narcisse's evidence "extrinsic."

The 2012 "Conclusion of Law" found that state senator Joe Seng's technical errors for submission to the primary ballot for a US House run, "should be liberally construed to the benefit of the electors in order to provide every lawful opportunity for the electors to express their preference at the ballot box."

Last week, Bruce Braley took his Iowa Works tour to workplaces from the Missouri River to the Mississippi to highlight Iowans' hard work, promote the need for policies that strengthen the middle class and create good-paying jobs, and discuss his own working background.

Iowans learned about Bruce's plans to fight for middle class families, because that's where he comes from.


Council Bluffs

"What I'm doing this week is traveling around the state this week, stopping by businesses and showcasing many of the various jobs I worked as I was growing up in Iowa, including a number of jobs I did to help pay my way through college and law school. Some of those jobs were waiting tables, washing dishes and working as a cook and a bartender. So Duncan's Cafe was the perfect place for me to kick off the 'Iowa Works' tour." -Bruce Braley [KMALand, 3/19/14]

"Council Bluffs was Braley's first statewide stop visiting with Iowans about the need for policies that strengthen the middle class and create good-paying jobs. He even served coffee to Duncan patrons, something he did to pay for college at Iowa State University. In fact, he began delivering newspapers in the second grade and has been working ever since, doing other jobs like selling greeting cards, truck driving, even baling hay and shelling corn." [Council Bluffs Nonpareil, 3/20/14]


Salix

"Braley, who once worked in construction, told employees he understands what it means to work hard and provide for your family, which is why he believes training and union apprenticeship programs are needed for more local skilled jobs. 'We have to be looking at ways to get kids interested earlier in a career path that will lead them to a good paying job,' said the representative." [KMEG, 3/19/14]


Des Moines

"The Democrat from Eastern Iowa is in the middle of an 'Iowa Works' tour, where he's putting the focus on policies that strengthen Iowa's workforce. Thursday he was at the DMACC campus in Ankeny, at their Advanced Manufacturing Center. He spoke with students and teachers about job training and how to keep higher education affordable." [WOI-TV, 3/20/14]

"'The most important thing congress could do to help the middle class is restore the minimum wage and pass the bill that Senator Harkin and I have cosponsored in the House and Senate,' Braley says, 'and that would restore the minimum wage to the level of purchasing power to the level it had the last time that we increased it.'" [Radio Iowa, 3/21/14]


Ames

"Braley attended Iowa State University from 1976 to 1980, first studying journalism but graduating with a degree in political science before attending law school at the University of Iowa. He reminisced about his four years tending bar and washing dishes at Minsky's Pizza Joynt in west Ames, which closed in 2005, to pay his way through college. 'That's where I learned a lot about customer service jobs,' he said. And if you've ever been in a place like that after an Iowa State football game, or basketball game, you deal with high volumes of customers and you work extremely hard under stressful conditions." [Ames Tribune, 3/25/14]


Dougherty

"'I grew up in a small town, Brooklyn, Iowa. I spent a lot of my time working on farms just like this one,' said Braley. Braley has always had a connection to those making a living off the land and while Dougherty, Iowa may be a long way from Washington D.C., Braley says he knows how important rural jobs can be to the state's economy." [KIMT, 3/20/14]


Dubuque

"Braley said despite the resistance to a minimum wage hike ? particularly among Republicans ? he will continue to advocate. 'I'm going to keep talking about it because I think it's an important issue. Most people can't survive on a minimum wage job,' he said." [Telegraph Herald, 3/21/14]


Davenport

"He's focusing on policies that create jobs and boost the middle class. He visited the Republic Truck Company to emphasize the impact of good paying jobs on the Iowa economy. 'These types of jobs are the types of work people do every day,' said Braley. 'Nobody usually says thank you and yet they have an extraordinary impact on the people of Iowa.'" [WHBF, 3/21/14]

"'I know what it takes to get a commercial driver's license,' Braley said. 'I've driven a truck and worked construction to pay my way through school.' Making those regulations easier to understand cuts costs to business, which frees up money that can be used for further investment, he said." [Quad-City Times,3/21/14]


Cedar Rapids

"U.S. Senate candidate Bruce Braley concluded his Iowa Works tour at a Cedar River bridge that he said was replaced, in part, as a result of his legislative efforts to create a funding stream to replace bridges destroyed by the floods of 2008... During the Iowa Works campaign tour, Braley has highlighted Iowans' hard work, the need for policies that strengthen the middle class and create good-paying Iowa jobs, and discussed his own working background, which includes four summers working on bridge crews." [Quad-City Times, 3/24/14]