Tom DuVall
Newton
For four years now, Jasper County has had a largely ineffective state representative. Looking at the Iowa Legislature’s website you can see that, of the proposed pieces of legislation that Dan Kelley has been lead-sponsor on, virtually every one of them was a “constituency” bill. That is, they were bills that were filed for the sole purpose of being able to tell his constituents that he was working for them on a particular issue. But they were never intended to be considered as serious legislation. You can tell this is the case, because, while a few have a couple other names attached to them, the vast majority of them have only his name on them.
This looks good on the surface, but real work in the state legislature includes putting forth the effort to get many other legislators — from both parties — to sign on as co-sponsors. This is necessary work if a bill is to have a chance at becoming law. This is the work that a state legislator is expected to do. Doing this work shows that you're serious about a particular piece of legislation, and it shows that you're doing your job. But Dan Kelley has not done any of this work in the four years he has been our state representative. Not even once. It's all right there on the website.
The good news is that Jasper County residents are wise to this. And they are ready for a change. Even a cursory look at Dan Kelley's 2014 campaign disclosures shows that he has lost a great deal of support — even from within his own party. The timing of all this couldn't be better, because we have the opportunity this year to elect a man who will actually do the work that he is hired to do, and who will actually go to work for the people he represents. That man is Patrick Payton.
Patrick understands that elected officials are the employees and their constituents are the employers. He understands that elected officials are there to serve the people, not to be served by them. Add to this commitment and understanding Patrick’s depth of knowledge and experience in business and education, and we have a golden opportunity this year to elect a statesman instead of a politician.
So please join me in bringing about a positive change for Jasper County. Join me in electing a statesman, a servant, and a leader — Patrick Payton.