The Governor and the Iowa Legislature have driven Iowa into the ditch and they are bound and determined to drag county and municipal government with them.  They have turned their back on local freedom and are intentionally infusing their twisted view of government’s role in our lives, at the expense of their constituents.

This isn’t a bottom-up movement; it’s top down.  As Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform stated in 2001, “I don’t want to abolish government.  I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”  It’s taken 25 years, but the tentacles of that movement have taken hold of Iowa state government.  Now we, the people, need to work through it as best we can, without increasing the burden on the average Dubuque County resident.

The obligations of county government are many.  Top among them is fiscal management: setting county property tax rates, adopting the annual budget and approving expenditures. All of which has become complicated due to State attacks on local freedom.

It should be no surprise that I would first focus on regional economic development as a way to increase sales and in turn, sales tax revenue, promote construction (commercial & residential), creating jobs, increasing the tax base and creating new revenue for necessary services.

Next, I would work to partner with the private sector and regional cities and counties to avoid duplication, reduce costs and maintain our quality of life.

In cooperation with municipalities, we’ll investigate the use of Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) where targeted public and private investments are made to revitalize and strengthen neighborhoods.