In response to two recent letters to the editor that claimed to prove Rep. Dan Kelley supports Iowa Veterans and their families. In my humble opinion, neither letter offered any verifiable evidence of how Mr. Kelley supported them.
Mr. Kelley, not everyone supports veterans programs and I am fine with that. I do however, have a problem with those who intentionally mislead their constituency with vague references of support. I simply cannot forget your recent vote against the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. That vote was verifiable evidence of how you really feel.
As a veteran, I have been deeply involved in local veterans programs and issues since 2005. In those years, I cannot recall one instance of Rep. Dan Kelley’s involvement or assistance. He was never involved in The Jasper County Honor, Freedom Flights or the Jasper County Veterans Memorial. There were however many other local and state elected officials who did get involved and supported these programs. The list includes people such as, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Congressman Dave Loebsack, Mayors Chaz Allen, Mike Hansen, all three Jasper County Supervisors and of course Jasper County Treasurer Mr. Doug Bishop. Mr. Bishop was the chairman and driving force behind all of these important veteran projects
An incident following the 2015 Newton Fourth of July parade tells a story. Shortly following the parade Mr. Kelley publicly criticized Doug Bishop for marching with his fellow veterans instead of walking with local Democrat contingent. His comments went something like this. “This just proves that Doug Bishop feels he is too good to walk with his fellow Democrats.” I marched beside Doug in that parade, and he was proudly carrying a large American flag. Anyone who knows Doug understands he is a proud American and a life long Democrat. My suspicion is that Rep. Kelley is just a bit jealous of Doug’s accomplishments supporting veterans’ issues.
With all of this in mind I am asking all local veterans and their families join me in supporting Mr. Wes Breckenridge in the upcoming June Primary.
Wallace (Wally) Schermerhorn
Newton