Stephen C. Smith
Baxter
I was frustrated when I read Rep. Dan Kelley’s latest column in the Newton Daily News. This is the second time he has publicly instructed local residents to contact him to have their local street and road problems addressed. He knows this responsibilities lie with local mayors, councils, street department directors, board of supervisors and the county engineer. State legislators have no control over local roads.
I have served as mayor of Baxter for the entire time Mr. Kelley has been our state representative. Governmental entities in Baxter have been working with the Iowa Department of Transportation to fix two dangerous intersections on State Highway 330. Both intersections are located in Rep. Kelley's district. I have not once heard from Mr. Kelley concerning these state controlled intersections. He has not attended one public meeting on the matter. He has not attended any joint meetings of the Baxter City Council and school board when this matter has been discussed at length. He has one of the most dangerous and deadly stretches of
intersections in the state in his district, and he has chosen to avoid participating in a workable solution for his constituents.
On the other hand, our newly elected Sen. Chaz Allen, contacted me two weeks after taking
office. He then called all of the players to the table and worked to find a viable solution for all concerned.
Sen. Allen has spent more time in three months trying to resolve this situation than Rep. Kelley has in five years. It would have been nice if Rep. Kelley invested time in these dangerous, state controlled, roads instead of worrying about who has enough gravel on a county maintained road. In closing, I will share my latest correspondence with Rep. Kelley.
On April 7 I received a random letter from him, on state paid official letterhead, thanking me for my continued service as a member of the Newton City Council. Yes, you read that correctly, he sent a letter to the current Mayor of Baxter thanking me for my service on the Newton City Council. I was amused at first, until I realized that I had paid for the mailing as a taxpayer. Rep. Kelley has lost touch with his district. His accusations that funds have been misappropriated were insulting to all local officials. In my opinion, our district deserves better representation than we have received. It’s time for a change.