Commentary: City Council Primary on October 9, 2007

Chris Coleman, Josh Daines, and Seth Galinsky are running for an at-large city council seat in Des Moines. A primary will be held on Tuesday, October 9 and the two candidates with the highest vote counts will move on to the November 6 general election. The primary election is four days away. Other than Coleman being the incumbent, I know very little about these candidates.

The need to report on the council candidates has been on my mind. However, October 9 is the date that the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women is holding a public hearing to gather testimony on what its 2008 legislative
issues should be. Since I report on the ICSW meetings in Leading Voices: Iowa, I have been focused on that event instead of thinking about Des Moines’ primary election. In addition, a summit on human trafficking is being held at Hoyt Sherman Place the evening of the 9th. I have seen no yard signs for, have received no mailings about, and have heard no talk of the city council candidates to draw my attention to the election.

Candidates for other city offices will be on the November 6 general election ballot. Bob Mahaffey (Ward 2) and Brian Meyer (Ward 4) are both incumbents and have no challengers. Frank Cownie, the incumbent mayor, is being challenged by Diana Newberry. Meyer I have some familiarity with because I lived in Ward 4 when he won a special election. Cownie I have some familiarity with because he gets around Des Moines and I have talked with him at forums and at chance encounters. Newberry I know of because I was at a farmers market when a supporter was gathering petition signatures for her candidacy. Since I advocate women running for office, I signed Newberry’s petition so she would have the opportunity to present the issues of her campaign to the public. Although city elections are considered non-partisan, Newberry has identified herself as a Socialist. A web search for candidate information revealed that Galinsky also is a Socialist.

I am not even sure what my most pressing issues are as they relate to the city council. To help me determine them, I started calling people whose business cards I have to ask what they think campaign issues should be. The “hand-in-hand,” back-scratching deal-making of city leaders and what that means for other residents of the city was a top issue. There are millions of dollars given to new developments, when there needs to be small investments given to rehabilitating existing housing. New business buildings should be required to be energy efficient, but better financing and tax supports need to be found before requiring the same of residential properties. Better mass transit is needed, as are sidewalks. A diversity of jobs for a diversity of people is another issue.

If you want basic information on city operations, you can check out the city’s web site. However, the site rarely provides discussion on issues nor any background on candidates.

Guest Writer: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa .