Iowa Democrats visit Clarke County

The need to stand up and fight back was the resounding topic at a presentation and town hall hosted by the Clarke County Democrats last Thursday, during which two Iowa legislators and one former agency director talked about the current state of affairs in Iowa. A sausage making demonstration was also conducted by John Hogeland of Whippoorwill Creek Farm in Lovilla, playing into how sausage is made in politics.

Speaking first was Matt Russell, former director of the Iowa Farm Service Agency. Appointed to serve during the Biden/Harris administration, Russell touched briefly on different governmental agencies are handling the various funding freezes and layouts that have happened since January. He called the effects of President Trump’s administration “unnecessary drama,” and ones that have had significant impact across Iowa.

Russell, however, was confident that next year will see a big turnaround for Democrats in Iowa.

“I am 100% committed and confident that in June of next year, the Iowa Democratic Party will have a farmer, a progressive farmer from Iowa, on the ballot for Secretary of Agriculture,” Russell said.

Visiting from the Capitol were Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Waukee) and Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-Windsor Heights), who both spoke on the second funnel week for the Iowa Legislature, and concerns they see with bills and proposals.

Trone Garriott spoke about what she views as preferential treatment for private schools over public schools. One example was that of House File 189, which would require public schools to allow students from private schools to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities. However, Trone Garriott stated the opposite was not true for public students. Additionally, public schools would not be reimbursed for participants from private schools.

The recently passed HF782 that would ban the use of cell phones during school instructional time only applies to public schools. Trone Garriott said she had proposed an amendment that would make the ban apply to private schools as well, but the amendment failed.

Trone Garriott compared the process of making sausage to that of politics at times - that it can be seen as “icky,” but doesn’t need to be.

“Politics doesn’t have to be like that…it’s interesting and can yield a really great product. It may be a little messy, we do have to get our hands dirty, but then you can wash ‘em…and you wind up with an excellent product that we all get to enjoy later,” Trone Garriott said.

She encouraged people to not give up, and to remain engaged and hands-on in the political process, taking advantage of opportunities to work together to overcome issues.

“It is possible to do tremendously hard things when we’re working together,” Trone Garriott said.

Konfrst, who serves as the Iowa House’s Democratic minority leader, echoed some of Trone Garriott’s sentiments.

Saying that things “aren’t great” at the Capitol, she said it was important to see the small slices of hope that can shine through. She spoke of the hands-free bill, which will make it illegal to use an electronic device while driving, and how its positivity also came with some negativity.

On the positive side, Konfrst had been visited by a man who lost his daughter to a distracted driver a couple of years prior. Making the trek to Iowa from Washington state where he now lives, the man thanked Konfrst for the work done on the bill and seeing it signed into law. The road there, however, was not an easy one.

Konfrst spoke of the bill passing the Iowa Senate three times but failing in the Iowa House. She said that went to the House’s Republican speaker and offered 33 Democratic votes to pass the bill, but was told they wanted to pass the bill with 51 Republican votes. The bill was then moved on and off of the debate calendar until there were enough Republicans present to pass the bill.

“I’m glad it passed, but it’s ridiculous that they would allow 33 Democrats’ votes to sit and wait because of politics,” Konfrst said.

Konfrst spoke of how the only way she is able to get bills through is to take her name off of them and let a Republican colleague run them. She does so because she wants good policy to be passed, but it has opened her eyes to the importance of standing up and fighting back.

“When we walk through that building, we have to do what you want us to do, not what special interests want us to do. And the contrast couldn’t be clearer,” Konfrst said.

Similar to Trone Garriott, Konfrst encouraged Iowans not to give up, using their voices to help enact the change and to make the people who were elected to represent do their job.

“It’s time to stand up and force them to change,” she said.