Ed Fallon sent this out a month ago.
Note the mention in the second paragraph of the urban sprawl issue, a
matter of major importance. (How could you be a governor of Iowa during the past
three decades and not fight urban sprawl? Ray, Branstad, Vilsack--they all
failed on this issue; now Culver.)
We should keep all of this information in mind, here in the Iowa Chapter.
I'm talking, of course, about campaign endorsements in 2010.
Tom
============================================================================
==
Dear Friends,
Sometimes the only way to hold elected officials accountable is to call
them out. Today, we’re doing that with a _press release_
(http://mlist.orchidsuites.net/lists/lt.php?id=KkoGAwRUUQJXBB4GAFRUSgMFBl5S) about Governor
Culver, and we’re releasing the _record_
(http://mlist.orchidsuites.net/lists/lt.php?id=KkoGAwRUUQJXBx4GAFRUSgMFBl5S) of our attempts to contact him and
his office. The record shows eleven unreturned phone calls to a Governor’s
staff person, Jamie Cashman, one returned call from Cashman and one
abbreviated meeting with the Governor.
After efforts to do so in 2006 and 2007 failed, we recently tried again to
establish a more positive working rapport with the Governor. After Ed’s
primary loss in June, 2006, we agreed to help Culver in his campaign against
Nussle. For his part, Culver promised that, as governor, he would take
seriously some of the issues important to us and our supporters. Culver
specifically promised to advocate for serious campaign finance reform, to support
legislation to control urban sprawl, and to involve us in his work in a
meaningful way. Nearly two-and-a-half years later, none of this has happened,
and we don’t see anything to give us hope that things will change.
We know the unwritten rule, “thou shall not criticize a fellow Democrat.”
But silence merely enables bad behavior to continue unchallenged. A
significant core of the Democratic Party is deeply disappointed with Culver’s
lack of leadership on many key priorities, and we constantly hear from Iowans
who feel they have little or no access to either the Governor or his staff.
We know how busy the Governor and his staff are, but it’s not right to ask
for help and support during a campaign and then turn one’s back on your
supporters once in office.
It’s not too late for the Governor to turn over a new leaf. We’re sorry
we have to bring this problem to the public’s attention, though we know we’
re not the first. If it helps create a more responsive, accessible and
accountable administration, it will have been worth it.
Ed and Lynn Fallon
--
For no more emails from us _go here_
(http://mlist.orchidsuites.net/lists/lt.php?id=KkoGAwRUUQJXBh4GAFRUSgMFBl5S)
**************Recession-proof vacation ideas. Find free things to do in
the U.S.
(http://travel.aol.com/travel-ideas/domestic/national-tourism-week?ncid=emlcntustrav00000002)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
|
