Diebel/Moore Race Exposes what is Broken

Iowans may disagree on the harm caused by the recent political meltdown in Washington, the government’s invasion of privacy in the name of terror, or the tossing of Iowa Supreme Court Justices from office over the marriage ruling; but most will agree our political process is broken. Candidates and officeholders are quick to twist facts and grandstand, and are too often unwilling or unprepared to offer ideas on how to solve the problems our country, state and communities face. They do the first to win votes and are scared to do the second for fear their plans may not be immediately popular.

The Des Moines City Council race provides a poignant example of what is wrong in modern politics as well as an answer to how we voters can begin to fix that which is not working.

From every angle Chris Diebel is a committed, hard-working, intelligent and caring person. A Hollywood screenwriter would be hard-pressed to find a better person to study as a model candidate for an at-large city council seat of a progressive American city. Diebel is confident and appeared well prepared when he entered the race a few short weeks ago. But, he quickly made a wrong turn. Instead of making the case for why it was his time to lead, he chose to dirty his opponent. To make things worse, Diebel’s false accusations showed he doesn’t understand the biggest issue facing the City of Des Moines.

Diebel sent voters two mailers attacking incumbent Skip Moore for the council’s failure to set aside money for an illegal utility franchise fee the courts have ordered the city repay. Diebel claimed his opponent, Skip Moore, “ignored orders to pay back illegal fees,” which is simply untrue. Diebel ignored the plainly obvious fact Moore was elected long after the City made the poor decision to charge the fee. Diebel ran a political play to convince voters to toss Moore out. Diebel should have made the case for why voters should vote him in.

Diebel made a poor choice to go negative and a reprehensible one to go negative with untruths.

I know Chris Diebel, like and respect him. However, this error in judgment should cost him this election. He is clearly not ready to lead, but this mistake should not disqualify him for future service. Des Moines needs people like Chris Diebel to create the vibrant city we know Des Moines can be. Yet, before he wins office, Diebel needs to earn the people’s trust. He has failed to do so this time around.

The first step to righting local, state and national politics will be taken when we elect candidates more committed to doing the job for those they serve than they are winning a position for themselves. Chris Diebel may be such a person, but his campaign tactics suggest otherwise. He was gaming to win votes because he wanted to win. That had more to do with what Chris Diebel wants than what Des Moines needs.

It is time we vote for the candidates best prepared to lead, not those who make us feel good or, worse, those who make their opponents out to be unworthy by slinging innuendo or misstating facts.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.

Finding Hope in a Bickering World

A pile of Des Moines Registers, New York Times and news magazines lay on the table. I found it hard to look at them for fear nothing had changed in my absence from the workaday world. You see, my family and I were able to escape to the woods of Minnesota for a number of days in July. Placing ourselves among the towering pines, birch trees and cool breezes coming off pristine waters taught us (again) the value of a simpler life and reminded us of what is important (and what is not) in life. I was afraid reading about the strife and bickering in the world would make me doubt the lessons and reminders I brought home from the Northwoods.

Before we had even unloaded our bags, we discovered two friends had left our neighborhood and took up residence in senior living facilities while we were gone. Betty Raife and Mary K. Riley had lived across the street from one another since before I was born. I imagine the Raifes and the Rileys were drawn to Harwood Drive for many of the same reasons we were;

mainly, this is a great place to raise a family. Their husbands passed away many years ago, but family and friends were often seen visiting them. Betty and Mary K.’s regular walks, beautiful yards and graciousness seemed as permanent and larger-than-life than the forest, waters and soaring trees we had admired during our trip. Their absence is going to leave a gaping hole in our neighborhood.

Our homes are now less than two blocks from I-235. The highway did not exist when the Raifes and Rileys arrived here. Roosevelt High School was there, of course, as was Hubbell Elementary, but students walked through a much larger neighborhood to reach school. Many of those homes were swallowed by the interstate and replaced by the cavern the highway now runs

through and the modern looking walking bridges students, joggers and strollers cross. As the world changed around them, Mary K., Betty and the Ingersoll Park neighborhood aged with grace. Mayors, Presidents, wars, civil unrest, good economies, bad economies, sadness, great joy and fashion trends have come and gone. The world looks much different than it did a half century ago, but the wide lanes and these wise women survived and, in my mind, became inextricably linked.

I avoided the stacks of news and walked into the other room. A few days ago, I sat in a kayak on a Minnesota lake watching an eagle fish in a hushed bay as a loon called in the distance and thought about how we are connected to all that surrounds us. What affects the eagle, the loon, the fish, and the vast region they all call home eventually will affect us. I might be able to avoid the newspapers, but the events recorded on their pages will, in time, reach me anyway.

I thought of healthier and happier times when Betty and Mary K. walked their dogs around the block looking at flowers and picking up pine cones. These gentlewomen’s friendliness, community work, gardening, their very neighborliness made our little corner of Des Moines, Iowa and the world better. They did not avoid the problems of the world. They faced them head on, lived and made a difference. They are still doing so today even though their addresses are different. They changed me and I will be forever linked (and grateful to be so) to them.

Linked. I will always miss our neighbors. The bags are put way until the next trip, but I no longer worry about losing sight of what I learned while gone. Like Betty and Mary K., I will try to remember the secret to life is living it with one’s eyes open. If I do what I can to make a difference and regularly stop to admire nature’s beauty, I will likely be able to look back on my days on Harwood Drive with the same fondness as do my two friends. I am linked to the world around me, both the good and the bad, and I am better for that. As for those papers, I got to many of them and look forward to those that will arrive tomorrow.

One a related note: the grieving parents of Jon Lacina released a statement today (the full text can be found here). In summation they say, “Life is precarious, and living every day fully is not just foolish optimism; it is a recognition all of us share the same end no matter what, and not living fully is at best laziness or fear or at worst a denial and a form of disrespect to those, older and younger, who have worked to enrich our lives.” Words to live by, I say.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Governor Culver, the Wizard of IA

Governor Chet Culver released more information Monday night about his proposed budget cuts. Well, not really. The Governor and his staff rarely release unfiltered information. They prefer to hold information closely and decide what, when and which members the public can handle the truth. He and his staff spend a great amount of time and effort withholding information that could influence dialogue between Iowans and policy makers. It has never been proven the Governor’s Office has knowingly broken open access laws, but they are playing a dangerous political game.

At 7:14 p.m. last night, Culver and company emailed the Des Moines Register a 62 page document. It is not known if they sent the document to other people, but they did not send the document to Republicans in the Legislature. House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen did not get it. Moreover, the document the Register received had so much of the document blacked out, that reporter Jason Clayworth could not tell if this “new” information was different than the summary the Governor’s Office released on October 21.

Culver spokesman Troy Price said the redactions are necessary until the cuts are approved to protect state workers from undue stress. Really? State workers who may be about to lose their livelihood might suffer some stress knowing their names are on the list, but they may appreciate the warning and many of them are able to manage their own stress. The Governor’s staff spoon feeding information does not help anybody. Also, the taxpayers deserve to know how the cuts are going to affect them. It is important the public and other policy makers be allowed to study the cuts and offer their opinions. Who knows? Somebody outside of the Governor’s Office might have a better plan.

Governor Culver is withholding information about proposed budget cuts not to protect state workers from stress, but to shield himself from the scrutiny that would ensue should his proposal see the light of day.

Using the same flawed rationale, Governor Culver did not release the savings proposals state department heads submitted nearly a year ago when he called for a 1.5% budget cut. The pressure to release these proposals intensified last month when the state finally realized the coffers were running dry. The Governor decided we were ready to handle the facts after 10 months and he relinquished. Unfortunately, Iowa cannot go back and implement many of these ideas after so much time has passed and money has been spent.

Like many Iowans, I went to see the musical Wicked at the Civic Center last month. Governor Culver reminds me of the wizard trying to manipulate Oz by withholding information and hiding behind the trappings of power. Iowa is in a financial crisis. The best way for the chief executive to chart a course through this mess is to be forthcoming with the facts, data and his plans. It is entirely possible public debate and discussion may reveal a way that is better and/or more acceptable to those he leads than what he first proposed. Trust us, Governor, we Iowans can handle the truth. Put away your black markers, start sharing all of the information and start working with us.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Note to Gov. Culver: Leading Takes more than Symbolism

In this space a few weeks ago I suggested that Congressman Steve King was in need of a dictionary so he could learn the definition of socialism. Governor Chet Culver and his staff should borrow Mr. King’s book, thumb to the L’s and take a look at the word Leadership. They do not understand any of the four ways to define the word and they fail to appreciate one cannot self-identify as a leader – only others can give you that title.

Governor Culver decided his taking a pay cut of 10% would demonstrate his self-proclaimed leadership as Iowa trims the same percentage from state budgets. He is now mandating that every department head also take a 10% pay cut or return the equivalent amount to state coffers at the end of the year “as a sign of their leadership.”

First, if department heads are mandated to take a cut, they are following, not leading. Second, the Culver-holier-than-thou act of keeping 90% of his pay while some 1,000 state workers lose a 100% of theirs shows the loose grasp the Governor has on the mantle of leadership. I bet the state workers who receive pink slips in the next few weeks will feel little consolation knowing the chief executive is feeling the pain of doing with 10% less as he rides home to Terrace Hill in a state owned SUV driven by a state trooper.

Iowa pays its governor too little – $130,000. The same can be said for many of the department heads. If they are doing their jobs, they earn every penny of their salaries. The state is in a money crunch and cuts are going to have to be made, but this is not a time for PR gimmicks. The Governor, department heads and legislators need to take decisive and immediate action to cut the budget now and get Iowa on sound financial footing.

Payroll deductions from less than 100 people are a drop in the bucket and insulting to those who are going to be out of work, those who are being forced to take the cut and to the people of Iowa. Charting a course out of this financial crisis is going to take leadership, but it may be easier if one understands what the term means first.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.