IOWA LIBERTARIANS NOMINATE CANDIDATES AT STATE CONVENTION

Cooper Nominated Governor; Vows to Get Major Party Status

Ed Wright, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, announces the 2010 nominees of the Iowa Libertarian Party selected today, April 24 at the Libertarian State Convention at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center in Ames.

Candidates selected at the convention were:

Eric Cooper, Nominee for Iowa Governor

Nick Weltha, Nominee for Iowa Lt. Governor

Gary Sicard, Nominee for U.S. House District 2

Rob Petsche, Nominee for U.S. House District 1,

Campbell DeSousa, Nominee for Iowa Senate

Tyler Pauly, 20, Nominee for Iowa House

Karen Tegtmeyer, Nominee for Polk County Attorney,

“Under Iowa law, the Libertarian Party can gain major party status if our governor candidate gets 2% of the vote in the general election. My goal in this election is not to win, but to get the 2% we need for major party status,” said Eric Cooper, the party’s gubernatorial nominee.

“The message of liberty, of smaller government is sounding in the hearts and minds of more Americans. The Libertarian Party is gaining favor with voters and the media. We welcome this opportunity,“ said Ed Wright, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Iowa.

With excitement and relief, I'm pleased to report the outcome of the City of Cedar Falls council election. On January 2nd, I began my 4-year at Large term. Representing over 36,000 people, I'm humbled and honored to serve the citizens of Cedar Falls.

Iowa is unique in that local elections are to be non-partisan. Rather than the party defining the candidate, the individual defines the candidate through articulated ideas and vision. Local elections are a great opportunities to promote ideas, principles, and philosophy. So while this the campaign made no mention of political affiliation, I found the the election to a be an affirmation of libertarianism's broad appeal within the red, blue, and indy political spectrum.

One year ago, city council was far removed from my radar. But with the encouragement of a few, I was convinced that the present represented an opportunity to bring fresh perspective and new energy to the city. In late winter, the odds of winning were low. I was not the anointed one by the mayor. I'd only lived in Cedar Falls for 5 years. I wasn't affiliated with the political or business power base of Cedar Falls. But as I campaigned throughout the city, my platform began to resonate with the people and soon, grassroots support sprouted. There were 9 months to this story, full of twisting plots, great characters, and a thrilling outcome.

Despite Mayoral and Council endorsements {against Nick], we first won a plurality (45%) on November 3rd, we won the majority (65%) in the December 1st run-off. I'm looking forward to representing and leading on a quality of life, economic development, and effective government matters with focus on taxpayer value and the citizen experience. I'm advocating for smarter infrastructure investment, the appropriate use of TIF funds, property rights, individual rights, quality of life features, and a more transparent and responsive local government to student, resident, and regional constituencies.

I owe great thanks to all that contributed their time, resources, and expertise. I thank the voters that took time to understand the issues and learn about the candidates. It took the of work of many, we defied odds, and we won.
Nick Taiber

The Libertarian Party of Iowa had three members run in Tuesday's election:

• Nick Taiber-Cedar Falls City Council At-Large
• Bill Lynn-Davenport 5th Ward Alderman
• Roger Fritz-Roland Mayor

The Unofficial Results:

Taiber Will Face Winterhof in a December 1st run-off.

Roland Mayor

Total Votes 81

Roger Fritz 68 83.95%

Write-in Votes 13 16.05%

Source:  Story County Auditor

Davenport 5th Ward
-- 5 of 5 precincts reporting (100%)

Source:  KWQC

Dr. Eric Cooper was recently interviewed by KASI Radio about his campaign for Iowa Governor. 

You can listen to the interview by clicking here.  (If you click on the link and it does not play, right click and choose "save as" to save the file to your computer and open it from there)

The Cooper/Weltha website can be found here.

By Mike Malloy
AmesNewsOnline
 (Sept. 30, 2009 – 8:30 p.m.) Eric Cooper, an Iowa State University associate professor in psychology and neuroscience, will run for governor next fall as a Libertarian.

Click here to read full story

Other Articles:

Libertarian Strategy Monthly-Eric Cooper To Run For Iowa Governor

From KCRG:

State auditors released a report on Tuesday on the Iowa Industrial New
Jobs Training Program, which is run by the state's community colleges.

The
program has borrowed $38.5 million on behalf of businesses who promised
to move to Iowa or expand their operations in the state.

The audit shows that the companies either closed, went bankrupt or failed to create more than 15,000 planned jobs.

Click here to read full article

Here is the article and a link about it from Stephen Gordan

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9094-Birmingham-Libertarian-Examiner~...

Source:  KCRG

"According to SurveyUSA, 42% of Iowans approve of the job Governor Culver is doing. That's a new low for Governor Culver.

50% of Iowans polled disapproved of Governor Culver's work. That ties a high since Culver took office, set in April 2008."

Click here to read full story

Governor Culver signed into law a series of bonding bills this week that will add nearly $1.7 billion dollars in additional debt to the state’s credit card. This record level of debt accompanies a recently passed state budget crafted by the current majority party in the Legislature that spends more money than any other budget in the 163 year history of the state.

When Governor Culver delivered the annual Condition of the State Address on January 13, he outlined his initial proposal to bond for $700 million dollars. A few weeks later his legislative counterparts, not to be outspent by the governor, rolled out their own debt proposal by adding an additional $50 million to the figure pitched by the governor.

Governor Culver said his proposal would create 30,000 “shovel ready” positions, yet when respected independent economists and experts took a look at his ideas, they found that the governor had substantially inflated and embellished his claims. Instead, these experts said the governor’s plans would likely yield closer to 4,000 temporary positions. In some cases, the governor double and triple counted particular jobs. Governor Culver had missed his stated claim by over 700 percent. What is the best way for politicians to cultivate cynicism and skepticism amongst the citizens they are supposed to be representing? Over promise and then under deliver.

Even then, the governor embarked on a statewide publicity tour trying to explain to the voters of Iowa why spending so much money and adding so much debt would be a good thing to do during these challenging economic times. There are over 80,000 Iowans who are unemployed, yet this proposal does not address job creation at a time when Iowans are concerned about their economic and employment security. Instead of creating sustainable and permanent jobs, this plan would only make temporary government work. Once the projects are complete and the money is spent, those workers are again looking for answers.

Iowans know there is a difference between temporary government created work and sustainable permanent jobs. Knowing that job creation is a top priority for Iowans and understanding that two-thirds of all new jobs created are by small-businesses and private sector employers, Senate Republicans outlined a bold and ambitious jobs creation initiative that would truly grow Iowa and it’s economy – not its government. Unfortunately, since we are currently not in control of the Legislature, the legislation was not even given a hearing – let alone a vote.

Not long after, The Des Moines Register unveiled a new “Iowa Poll” showing that 71 percent of Iowans are against bonding. The citizens of Iowa were presented with two competing debt proposals and an overwhelming majority said they were not interested in requiring the state to make regular payments on hundreds of millions of dollars of principle and interest for literally decades to come. This spend now – pay later mentality may provide the governor and his legislative counterparts with a feeling of immediate gratification but it leaves our children, grandchildren and generations of Iowans to foot the bill later.

In the final days of the 2009 session, the governor and his legislative allies came to an agreement on how much debt they were going to add to the state’s credit cards. Instead of finding a compromise between the two proposed dollar amounts, the final number was nearly $100 million dollars more and totaled approximately $830 million dollars. Yet, the state will actually only be able to spend $750 million dollars of that sum total because of fees and other bonding charges and expenses. Over the decades to come, the actual total cost to taxpayers will be nearly $1.7 billion dollars.

I recognize that government should have a limited and focused role to provide essential services like safe and reliable infrastructure that all Iowans need. However, I also recognize that we owe it to every hardworking Iowa taxpayer to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely and efficiently. Like the vast majority of Iowans, we believe that the best way to pay for important infrastructure projects is to pay for them as money becomes available. Dependable infrastructure is important to Iowa’s economy and to the safety of those who live and visit here.

Beyond the $1.7 billion in new debt built up this year, the governor and current majority party also gave their stamp of approval to the largest budget in the history of Iowa. Even as Iowa families and employers were making difficult financial decisions, the Legislature did not follow their lead and tighten the belt on spending. As a result, they have created nearly a one billion dollar deficit that could continue to get bigger if the economy does not start to pick up the pace. It is important to remember that Iowa did not even have a $1 billion dollar budget until 1976.

Unlike Governor Culver and party members in the Legislature, Senate Republicans understand that you cannot borrow, you cannot tax and you cannot spend your way to prosperity. They have dug a deep fiscal hole for the state and the best way to get out of it is to stop the out-of-control spending and work to grow Iowa’s economy through the creation of private sector jobs.

This time of year is always exciting because our public and private high schools all over the state are graduating their senior classes and those students will go off looking to find a job or obtain more education. This year, those newly graduated seniors will get something extra with their diploma. If those seniors opt to stay in Iowa to find a job and start a family, they will be paying for this new bonding until they are 50 years old and that added spending is just the consequence of one legislative session.

Instead of burdening those high school graduates with decades of debt, we should instead be working together to create opportunities for them and their children to be successful. Senate Republicans know that with the right leadership, principles and priorities, we can build an Iowa that will once again the destination for all of those seeking opportunity and possibility.

As always, I welcome hearing from my constituents and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us

McKinley’s Memos
Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley

PGPF Citizens Guide 2009