Friday, July 13, 2012
Iowa City's Randi Shannon, who was the official Republican candidate on the ballot for Iowa Senate District 34, thanked her fellow Ron Paul supporters in announcing she's left the race to become a senator with the "original government."
For months, Randi Shannon has been campaigning in an important Iowa Senate race, telling people why as the GOP-preferred candidate she's a better choice than Democratic incumbent Liz Mathis to represent Linn County's District 34. Shannon has now decided not only that she was the better candidate, but also that she has found a better government, and she dropped out of the race to become "senator" for the "Republic of the United States." A businesswoman who owns Iowa Auto Glass among more than a dozen other businesses, according to Shannon, she could not bring herself to work for "the corporation" as she describes the current legal status of the U.S. government, the one most people are familiar with. "I don’t see running for state senate in …
Monday, March 12, 2012
A bill in the Iowa State Senate could lead to construction of a nuclear power plant. Since Marion Sen. Liz Mathis has said she is undecided, how would you like her to vote?
A bill under consideration in the Iowa Senate would allow MidAmerican Energy to raise its rates to pay for construction of a nuclear power plant. But the public debate on this bill dovetails with the anniversary of the tsunami that struck Japan last year on March 11, followed by the meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The disaster left many skeptical of the safety of nuclear reactors. State Sen. Liz Mathis, whose district includes Marion and Iowa’s only nuclear power plant, in Palo, has said in a recent release that she has not yet made up her mind on the issue. What do you think Mathis should do? Do you have environmental concerns about an additional nuclear power plant? Do you think nuclear power would be good for Iowa and …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
In a Marion Patch project, interviews with state legislators, a political columnist, a political science professor, a same-sex-couple and an analysis of polling data, we try to answer the question: Is same-sex marriage in Iowa forever?
Andrea La Ronde and her fiancee, Amber Sigo, had their wedding planned to a T. La Ronde found her dress, planned the music — a mix of The Beatles, soul and indie pop — saved a date and settled on a location: October 8, 2011 at Lowe Park. Then, they nearly scrapped the idea altogether. It wasn’t a cheating lover or cold feet. It was a bill, HJR 6, that stood between the Marion couple. The bill, an amendment to the Iowa Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman, passed in the Iowa House of Representatives in February 2011. Despite threats to their vows, the Sigo-La Rondes, as they go by now, went through with their marriage. "It hit me really hard. I definitely cried about it," Andrea said. "It is really going to hurt …
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Former television anchor Liz Mathis defeated Cedar Rapids businesswoman Cindy Golding on Tuesday.
After years in television, Liz Mathis didn't let a few nasty robo-calls urging voters to question her about "what homosexual sex acts she endorses" ruin her day. That could be because the former news anchor from Robins knew she had the crucial District 18 special election for a state senate seat locked up. The win in one of the most expensive Iowa state elections ever allows Democrats to keep its majority in the senate and hold back pushes to ban gay marriage and other controversial measures. “Tonight I want to thank the voters of Senate District 18,” Mathis said in a statement after a convincing win to claim the vacant District 18 seat. "And I also want to thank the organizations that represent equal rights for all in the state of Iowa." …
Monday, November 7, 2011
Mathis leads her competitor, Republican Cindy Golding, in polling and in early voting. What will this mean on election day?
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Monday, November 7, 2011
By Lynn Campbell IowaPolitics.com A new poll, absentee ballots and fundraising numbers all point to Democrat Liz Mathis having the advantage going into Tuesday’s special election in Iowa Senate District 18. But that didn’t stop Republicans and conservative groups from putting on a full-court press Monday, in an attempt to win the key seat that could alter control of the Iowa Senate. “I think it’s an uphill battle for the Republicans to win that seat,” Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, said Monday at his weekly news conference. “The Democratic candidate is very well known, had been a TV anchor for a long period of time.” Mathis, of Robins, leads Republican Cindy Golding of rural Cedar Rapids, 52 to 46 percent in the race for Iowa Senate …
Friday, November 4, 2011
The District 18 election has seen its fair share of outside influences and large issues, but many say the key to victory is sweating the small stuff.
Nathan Aarhus said he's voting Republican in the Iowa State Senate District 18 race to restore "balance" by ending the slim Democrat majority in the upper chamber. The one seat Senate majority has allowed Democrats to block hot-button legislation that would otherwise be brought to vote and to the desk of Republican Governor Terry Branstad. If Republicans win the seat they evenly split the Senate, allowing them to propose controversial legislation to further regulate abortion, curtail labor rights, unfund pre-school education and undo Iowa's tolerance of same-sex marriage. The stakes are high. Loads of outside money is flooding into the district, and the national media has pounced on the district. Many eyes are watching from around the …
Thursday, September 29, 2011
As Democrats tabbed former television new anchor Liz Mathis to vie for the now empty Marion senate seat, she and her challenger, Cindy Golding, insisted the campaign will be about the economy.
By Hannah Hess IowaPolitics.com Both candidates in the high-profile Iowa Senate District 18 race were reluctant Wednesday to answer questions about same-sex marriage, a hot topic likely to be on the minds of voters in the special election that will determine control of the Iowa Senate. Liz Mathis, a former television news anchor from Robins who officially became the Democratic candidate in the race Wednesday night, said voices from New York, Des Moines and Washington, D.C., “are coming in and they’re trying to make gay marriage the issue of this campaign and of this district.” She said she supports same-sex marriage, which is legal in Iowa and five other states, but does not believe it will be the cornerstone of the campaign for the Nov. 8…
Friday, September 23, 2011
Businesswoman Cindy Golding gets the nomination to run for the Nov. 8 special election for District 18.
Cindy Golding emerged from a nominating convention on Thursday evening as the GOP candidate for an all-important senate seat in Eastern Iowa. Golding will run against, most likely, former newsanchor Liz Mathis. They are seeking the District 18 seat vacated by Democrat Swati Dandekar, who resigned to accept Republican Gov. Terry Branstad's appointment to a $137,000-a-year job on the Iowa Utilities Board. The race has enhanced meaning because it could swing the balance of power. Democrats hold a 25-24 majority in the Senate. The majority has allowed them to block legislation pushed by the Republican-led Iowa House and Branstad. “I’m extremely proud of Linn County Republicans for coming together and showing the state that we can work together…
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Former TV anchorwoman and former U.S. attorney join two others seeking Senate District 18 seat. Democrat Swati Dandekar resigned to accept an appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board.
Candidates are lining up for an open Iowa Senate seat that both parties are hot for, with two new candidates entering the race today. Three Republicans and one Democrat are now going after Senate District 18. While the winner will represent a chunk of Linn County, the election will determine whether Democrats keep control of the state Senate. The outcome of the race could impact law on issues such as gay marriage, state funded pre-school and collective bargaining. The seat is being vacated by Democrat Swati Dandekar, who resigned to accept Republican Gov. Terry Branstad's $137,000-a-year appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board. Republicans will hold a nominating convention Thursday to decide which of their candidates to put forward in a …
mike westman
5:58 am on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
I am sorry you have to feel the way you do.......I grew up in a Calvinist environment and learned about self reliance and the power of the individual.....I also realize that govt. taken to extremes will power itself over the individual.......But....when the individual stands out and proclaims his individualism above the needs and function of the society as a whole....then he...the staunch … more ›