A push for campaign reform in Iowa

By: 
Andy McKean
Iowa State Representative, 58th Dist.

     I believe that political campaigns have become too long, too expensive, and too unpleasant. The recent presidential campaign was a case in point. The obscene amount of spending, reckless charges on all sides, and intemperate comments made by the candidates were a national embarrassment. I am introducing legislation this session that I believe would help promote pride in Iowa campaigns.

     Campaigns in Iowa have become a long slog, both for the candidates and the public. With our June primary, many candidates begin concerted campaigning as early as March. Once the primary is over, the parties urge their candidates to begin full-fledged campaigning almost immediately. The result is that the voters end up enduring non-stop campaigning from March to November. I am introducing legislation to move the primary from June to September. This would, at least, shorten and condense the process. There are many states around the nation that have September primaries, and I see no reason why Iowa couldn’t move in this direction.

     I think most people agree that campaigns today are too unpleasant. One of the problems is excessive partisanship. A step in the right direction would be to make our county offices non-partisan. When I served on the Jones County Board of Supervisors, it was difficult to tell who was a Republican and who was a Democrat, and really, who cares what the party affiliation of your County Recorder is! I am introducing legislation to make all races for county office (Supervisors, Attorney, Auditor, Sheriff, Recorder, and Treasurer) non-partisan, as school board elections already are. The emphasis should be on doing what’s best for the county; excessive partisanship just muddies the water. Unfortunately, our campaigns for state offices in Iowa have become increasingly unpleasant. I am proud that my opponent, Jessica Kean, and I conducted civil, issue-oriented campaigns that were an exception to the rule. We met early on in the campaign and pledged to keep our campaign free from negative campaigning. I call upon more candidates to make similar pledges.

     The expense of campaigns is out of control. Believe it or not, some Iowa legislative races have cost over a million dollars, and this is for a job with an annual salary of $25,000! Big money and special interests have too much influence on legislative races. I would like to see a spending limit of $25,000 for legislative races and a requirement that all contributions come from within the district. While this is unlikely given court decisions and the influence of the lobby and press, I would urge candidates to consider self-imposed spending limits. The amount of money spent on Iowa campaigns is outrageous and could be much better spent on community efforts or charitable projects.

     Campaigns are a vital part of the democratic process and they need to be civil, issue-oriented, and dignified. I hope that we will see Iowa moving in this direction in 2017.

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