Politico:
Add Iowa Gov. Chet Culver to the list of Democratic governors seeing their approval numbers in free-fall, with the economy continuing to struggle in states throughout the country.
Culver has seen his approval rating dip to a new low and he now trails two prospective Republican opponents, including his leading challenger by 24 points, according to a newly-released Iowa Poll commissioned by the Des Moines Register.
Iowa voters are clearly taking their economic anxieties out on the governor. A 57 percent majority of voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, while only 34 percent believe it’s headed on the right track.
Culver trails former Iowa governor Terry Branstad, 57 to 33 percent, an ominously low number for a sitting governor who’s not dealing with any personal scandals. He also trails conservative businessman Bob Vander Plaats by seven points, 45 to 38 percent.
Tags: Branstad, culver, governer
The first ladies of Iowa and California have met. John Culver, Iowa First Lady Mari Culver’s father-in-law, was a close friend of Ted Kennedy, the uncle of California First Lady Maria Shriver. In 2000, for example, Mari & Chet Culver went to a party Maria Shriver threw when the Democratic National Convention was held in L.A. The two women now have something else in common: they’ve been caught violating a law which their husbands signed into law.
About a year ago, Mari Culver apologized after she was seen smoking in a vehicle that’s leased by the state. Her husband, Governor Chet Culver, had signed Iowa’s smoking ban into law a few months before.
Now, Maria Shriver — wife of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger — has been caught by celebrity photographers, holding her cell phone to her ear while driving. Her husband signed a law in 2008 which requires those driving on California roadways to use of ”hands-free” devices when talking on their cell phones.
Tags: culver, smoking ban
From the Times-Republican:
Jonathan Narcisse’s vision of a better Iowa includes one where government is more accountable, tax reform promotes community stability and there is more investment in vocational education.
It also includes one where the minimum wage is repealed for teenagers and state departments are slashed.
“We cannot fix the state without doing some unpopular things,” he said as he revealed his 10-point plan in Marshalltown Thursday.
However, he said proposals such as repealing the minimum wage for teenagers should help them in the long run.
“How do you get your teenagers work experience if you don’t repeal the minimum wage for teenagers?” Narcisse asked. “Business owners can’t afford to hire teenagers, train them and subsidize their education to that level.”
Narcisse’s plan is called “An Iowa Worth Fighting For.”
Tags: culver, narcisse
House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha said Democrats are limiting committees that scrutinize budget requests at a time when the recession has caused a $700 million or larger shortfall. He said voters need to know what choices will be made in tough financial times.
As they raise budget issues, Republicans have repeatedly argued that Democrats aggravated the shortfall by spending too much in previous years. On Wednesday, Paulsen submitted a list of questions he wants Democrats to answer, including how many new state workers have been added and how across-the-board spending cuts would be implemented.
Governors traditionally submit a proposed state budget to the Legislature as part of their annual report on the state’s condition. But Culver decided not to do that this year, saying he needs more time to assemble his spending plan and understand how much federal aid is headed to the state.
The governor is required to submit a proposed budget by Feb. 1, and Culver said he’s likely to do so next week. McCarthy argued that lawmakers traditionally use the governor’s proposed budget as a base to work from and it doesn’t mak
Tags: budget, culver
