Branstad Deserves Some Praise

I had the opportunity to get to know Terry Branstad pretty well in 1993 and 1994 when I put together his Made in Iowa tour for his last reelection campaign.  We took the Governor from one corner of Iowa to the other to celebrate the business, education and community success stories of Iowans.  It made for good political theater.  Personally, I learned a great deal about the man and the Governor as we logged many miles traveling across my new home state.  As I follow his return to public office, it occurs to me his pragmatic approach to problem solving hasn’t changed much over the years.

RODNEY WHITE/THE REGISTER

Governor Branstad will return to office this month.  Some will say Branstad has pandered to the right flank of the Republican Party to get the keys to Terrace Hill back.  I disagree.  The Branstad of 2011 is the same guy who bounced along in that Winnebago motorhome enthused about being governor in the early 90’s.  I oppose some of the current Branstad agenda, but I feel compelled to practice what I preach and praise the good in this space as I start the New Year.  Finding common ground and attempting to work together is all too uncommon in today’s politics.

Rethinking Iowa’s economic developmenteffort is necessary.  Branstad’s record of bringing business and government together to create jobs is solid.  He plans to create a new private-public partnership.  This is a good idea and I feel confident Branstad will make it happen.

Iowa sets its budget every year.   The last minute/clock ticking budget negotiations make it hard for local and state government leaders to plan and it is simply bad politics.  Branstad proposes the Legislature pass a two-year budget.  This is a very good idea.  As a former school board member, I am well aware of the annual scramble that occurs as the budget passes in the waning hours of the Session.  Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal is justified in his concern that governors could abuse such a budget process.  Branstad has promised to work to alleviate these concerns and Gronstal should hold him to it.  The two-year budget will be a significant improvement over what Iowa does now and Iowans interested in better government should support this Branstad proposal.

Branstad has promised to review every executive order signed since the Erbe Administration.  This is an excellent idea.  Many of these orders should not be overturned or allowed to sunset, but every chief executive should do a regular review of executive orders, budgets, laws, policies and regulations.  This is what a good administrator does.

On a frigid day in 1994, I sat in a nearly as cold motorhome with Terry Branstad as the driver made slow progress on a snow swept NW Iowa highway.  We discussed the tedious process a governor must follow in making small and big decisions.  Branstad’s patience was evident.  I know there will be times in the coming four years when I will call him out for coming to the wrong conclusion or taking an action with which I will disagree.  As this new chapter begins, I have to say I see the same determined guy I saw back then.  That is a good.  I can handle that.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.