[Iowa-dx] Local vs. Statewide, S&WCDC

[Jim O'Loughlin]

Thanks, Kelley, for the details about the SWC.  I appreciate the work  
you've done blazing a trail I hope other Greens will be inspired to  
follow.  You're right that it is not something to be taken on without  
commitment, but for anyone with environmental concerns in Iowa, it's  
hard to find more important issues than using land wisely and  
reducing agricultural run off.

Just to clarify my problem with the residency requirements, I believe  
back in the 1960s the state legislature had a similar geographic  
diversity requirement, so that each county had one House  
representative.  That requirement was struck down as a violation of  
the one-person, one-vote rule, as it was seen to essentially  
disenfranchise large number of voters in urban areas.  Not  
coincidentally, the old requirement virtually assured Republican  
domination of the state legislature.  Considering that the SWCs have  
a related requirement, I'm not surprised to hear that they are  
dominated by Republicans.

Jim

On Nov 17, 2006, at 11:51 AM, Kelley Putman wrote:

> Regarding what some consider to be the odd residency requirements  
> for Soil
> and Water Conservation District Commissioner (S&WCDC) positions,  
> they were
> set forth in the Iowa code so there would be some degree of geographic
> diversity among the commissioners from any given district. In Iowa the
> districts are the same as the counties with the one exeption of
> Pottawattamie which is divided into two districts for a total of 100
> Conservation Districts in Iowa.  Do not confuse these with  
> Conservation
> Boards which oversee county parks.
>
> There may be only one elected S&WCD Commissioner per township within a
> district at any given time.
>
> In the past counties were further divided into townships generally of
> similar size.  Since then many areas have been incorporated as  
> towns and
> cities.  In Johnson County the auditor uses the township maps from the
> 1830's to the 1850's. I have recently heard that not all counties  
> follow
> this approach which is mandated in Iowa Code 161A.5 subsection 3  
> paragraph
> 2.  Some auditors are using precincts.  If you are thinking of  
> running for
> this position I recommend that you talk to your county auditor to  
> find out
> how s/he has handled this, and then let me know what you find out.   
> I am
> seeking a revision to the Iowa Code that will make this rule more
> transparent on the ballot.
>
> S&WCD Commissioners represent the interests of the land itself not  
> just the
> people who live in the district hence the importance of some level of
> geographic distribution among those elected.  The concept of the
> conservation district arose after WWI and the massive erosion from  
> poor
> agricultural practices of that era.  Local control for allocating
> conservation dollars assured that appropriate practices would be  
> implemented
> according to the unique needs of each community and landscape.
>
> In addition to being the S&WCDC for Johnson County I am also the  
> Region 7
> (out of a total of 9) director to the state Conservation District  
> of Iowa
> (CDI) board. I represent twelve counties: Tama, Benton, Linn,  
> Poweshiek,
> Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, Muscatine, Clinton, Scott, Washington and  
> Louisa.
>
> This is an unpaid position.  If you run for it, make sure it is  
> something
> you are interested in and willing to devote time to.  Commissioner  
> meetings
> are held once a month in each district and are open to the public.   
> There
> are usually additional meetings that deal with individual projects,  
> such as
> grants to improve specific watersheds.
>
> I highly recommend attending meetings prior to running for this  
> position.
> The elected commissioners can appoint any number of Assistant  
> Commissioners
> without geographic restrictions.  Assistant Commissioners often  
> oversee
> important projects in their area of interest and thereby gain  
> recognition
> within the county and increase their chances of being elected.
>
> I just got back from the 60th annual state conservation district  
> conference.
> The majority of commissioners are conservative Republicans.  We  
> need more
> people with an interest in organic and sustainable farming  
> practices.  We
> also need people who are interested in urban conservation issues,
> particularly stormwater runoff.
>
> Please note that this position has a limited (but powerful)  
> mandate.  The
> S&WCDC deals primarily with soil loss and pollution issues related  
> to the
> movement of water in the ecosystem.  Particulate matter (soil) is the
> leading pollutant in Iowa waterways, outpacing farm and lawn  
> chemicals,
> bacteria or road related pollution.
>
> Do not seek a position on this commission primarily out of an  
> interest in
> trails, roads, parks, hunting (or restriction thereof), green  
> development,
> air pollution, alternative energy, etc.  There are many local and  
> state
> commissions that deal with those issues and would be a valuable  
> appointment
> for a Green Party representative.
>
> Kelley Putman
>
> Johnson County S&WCDC
> DCI Region 7 Director
> Johnson County Green Central Committee Treasurer
> Johnson County Democratic Central Committee, Precint IC09  
> representative*
>
> * I will remain bi-political until the Green Party regains legal party
> status in this state so as not to be excluded from important political
> activities such as absentee ballot counting.  I like being on a  
> variety of
> boards and committees, because I pick up a lot of information that  
> I would
> not get otherwise.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim O'Loughlin" <jim.oloughlin@uni.edu>
> To: "IAGP Discussion" <iowa-dx@lists.gp-us.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 9:49 AM
> Subject: Re: [Iowa-dx] Local vs. Statewide
>
>
>> I'd like to put a plug in for an approach that is both local and
>> statewide.  Greens have been successful in winning Soil and Water
>> Commission positions in the past.  There's a lot of room for people
>> to do some positive environmental work in those posts.  I believe
>> that as long as the Green Party doesn't provide money to SWC
>> candidates, it would be legitimate to come up with a statewide SWC
>> platform and then have candidates run in these non-partisan races.
>> The question is whether or not we can put together a significant
>> slate of candidates.  There are some funny residency requirements for
>> these positions (which strike me as unconstitutional, but what are
>> you going to do?) so that board members need to be from different
>> townships or something like that.
>>
>> Can I put in a plug for county contact people to at least contact
>> their election offices to find out what seats will be coming up for
>> election next cycle?  I will be the first to make a call.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 16, 2006, at 6:54 PM, Kelley Putman wrote:
>>
>>> For those who live in a rural area, Township Clerk and Township
>>> Trustee
>>> positions can be won with as few as two write-in votes sometimes.
>>>
>>> Kelley
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Richard Johnson" <seiowagreen@fastmail.fm>
>>> To: "IAGP Discussion" <iowa-dx@lists.gp-us.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 2:46 PM
>>> Subject: [Iowa-dx] Local vs. Statewide
>>>
>>>
>>> OK...Iowa is now firmly in the control of the Democrats.  While
>>> that may
>>> only be a slight improvement over the previous situation, it is
>>> still an
>>> improvement.  As with any long journey, one must start with the  
>>> first,
>>> small step away from the starting point.  Our starting point was a
>>> corporate dominated government that was out of touch with the common
>>> Iowan and dominated by far too many conservative legislators.  That
>>> was
>>> our origin point on the journey.
>>>
>>> Where are we now?  We will still have a legislature that is far too
>>> friendly with the corporate interests of this state, and still  
>>> out of
>>> touch for the most part with the needs of the average citizens of  
>>> the
>>> state.  However, even if only marginally, it is an improvement,  
>>> and it
>>> builds a small bit of momentum for future changes.
>>>
>>> The question that is now before us is how do we build on that small
>>> bit
>>> of momentum.
>>>
>>> For the past three election cycles the IAGP has run candidates  
>>> for the
>>> top of the ticket.  After Ralph Nader's results in the 2000
>>> campaign we
>>> benefitted by having access to the ballot as an official party  
>>> AND by
>>> having the check-off for our party added to the income tax forms.
>>> I do
>>> not have the figures in front of me, but as I recall the check-off
>>> brought in around $3000 for us (Holly please correct me if I am
>>> wrong).
>>>
>>> Since then we have seen the following:
>>>
>>> 2002 - Governor/Lt. Governor: Jay Robinson/Holly Hart - 1.4%
>>> 2004 - President/Vice President: David Cobb/Patricia La Marche -
>>> 0.076%
>>> 2006 - Governor/Lt. Governor: Wendy Barth/Richard Johnson - 0.74%
>>> (Unofficial)
>>>
>>> For a variety of reasons we have not been able to repeat the
>>> results of
>>> 2000, in spite of the hard work and money we have put into our
>>> efforts.
>>> The best showing of any state-wide candidate under our banner was in
>>> 2002, when Brian Depew pulled in 2.18% of the vote.
>>>
>>> I believe it is time for us to re-examine our approach to  
>>> building the
>>> party in the state.  Specifically I would suggest that we turn our
>>> attention away from the top-of-the-ticket races and focus on putting
>>> candidates into down-the-ballot races.  I know that these races  
>>> do not
>>> draw the attention that those at the top of the ticket do, but I
>>> believe
>>> that we have the people and the infrastructure in a few counties to
>>> have
>>> some success with this approach.
>>>
>>> Each county will have its own unique situation.  For example,  
>>> Johnson
>>> County might well not run anyone against Joe Bolcom for several good
>>> reasons.  However they may have good openings on the city council,
>>> county board, conservation board, or community college board of
>>> trustees
>>> that would be excellent places to run candidates.  Here in Des  
>>> Moines
>>> County we have a representative that may be vulnerable, and running
>>> someone from the Green Party might be a good move.  Under this
>>> approach
>>> there will be no "one size fits all" solution.  Each county will
>>> have to
>>> work as they see fit from their vantage points.
>>>
>>> Yes, this will dilute our money, and possibly our strength in some
>>> areas.  However, I believe the chance for success is greater with  
>>> this
>>> approach.  Success under the state-wide approach has been defined as
>>> getting the 2% needed to obtain ballot status.  Success under the
>>> local
>>> approach might well be better defined as winning the seat.  And  
>>> if our
>>> goal as a party is to see candidates who run under our banner win
>>> elections, it is the local approach that I feel offers the greatest
>>> opportunity for success.
>>>
>>> But more importantly for the future of our party, a local approach
>>> gives
>>> us an opportunity to connect with and mobilize Greens in our  
>>> counties.
>>> Johnson, Linn, and a handful of other counties are doing a great
>>> job (at
>>> least from where I sit) in connecting with their local voters.
>>> However
>>> other counties have a hard time making such connections when there
>>> is no
>>> local candidate to drive interest.  They also have a hard time  
>>> keeping
>>> folks involved if there is nothing locally to hold their interest
>>> (refer
>>> to my earlier e-mail for thoughts on this).
>>>
>>> We've been doing the big picture for several years now.  We've  
>>> fielded
>>> good candidates.  We've campaigned well.  We've all worked hard to
>>> support the candidates.  We've made new contacts and tried to hold
>>> their
>>> interest.  But in the end has our party shown growth?
>>>
>>> Should we take a breather from the top of the ticket races and focus
>>> during the next cycle on local races, local party-building  
>>> activites,
>>> and connecting with other progressive groups in our communities?
>>>
>>> Rick Johnson
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> http://www.fastmail.fm - And now for something completely different.
>>>
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