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Accomplishments
- An outspoken advocate for reforming Iowa's livestock laws, and led the unsuccessful charge against HF 519, which caused rapid expansion of corporate hog factories
- One of the leading legislative voices in support of greater diversity in agriculture, and introduced several pieces of legislation to create more opportunities for farmers marketing directly to consumers
- Helped establish a community garden in Des Moines' inner city, and reclaimed a clay parking lot for a garden
- Consistently introduced legislation to overhaul campaign finance laws
- Refused PAC and lobbyist money during 14 years at the Statehouse and during his 2006 campaign for governor
- Introduced and passed legislation requiring voting machines to include a paper trail
- Spoke out publicly, in the Iowa Legislature and before the U.S. Congress against anti-civil rights legislation affecting gays and lesbians
- Helped lead the debate against anti-minority "Official English" legislation
- Stood with constituents critical of the handling of Charles Lovelady's death
Criminal Justice . . .
- Brought to light problems identified by staff at Mitchellville Correctional Institution for Women that led to positive changes in staffing
- Provided leadership in helping defeat the death penalty on two occasions
- A leading voice for reforming the criminal justice system to use community-based corrections for non-violent offenders vs. costly new prison construction
- Initiated an effort to provide private funds for prisoner education
Economic Development . . .
- Led efforts to increase funding for the Iowa Main Street program
- Led efforts against the Iowa Values Fund, including initiating a widely-publicized analysis that challenged the program's findings and numbers
- Worked to develop a detailed business plan for a grocery store in Des Moines' inner city, which City officials rejected in favor of a different plan that failed after less than two years in operation
Education . . .
- In 2003, helped lead efforts to increase K-12 funding by 6%, and conducted a 99-county tour in 9 days to build grassroots support for the effort
- Worked with community leaders to secure $400,000 for improvements at North High School in Des Moines
- Supported efforts to increase teacher pay and reduce class size
Eminent Domain . . .
- Worked successfully with rural residents threatened with losing their land and homes to lakes or airports in Jefferson, Marshall, Mahaska, Dallas, Clarke, Madison, Winneshiek and Howard counties
- Worked with low-income residents of The Manor in Burlington in an unsuccessful effort to prevent the City from condemning their homes for development
- Helped lead the successful effort to override Governor Vilsack's veto of legislation that helped reign in the abuse of condemnation
Environmental Protection . . .
- Exposed a toxic spill at a proposed coal burning plant in Pleasant Hill
- Led efforts to protect a rare wetland, Engeldinger Marsh, from highway expansion
- Helped organize successful efforts to prevent a four-lane highway from being constructed through a flood plain on the north edge of Des Moines
- Led efforts to increase local and state initiatives to address global climate change, and served as secretary on Governor Culver's Climate Change Advisory Council
- Led the effort to have Hawthorn Hill designated as an historic landmark
- Co-sponsored legislation establishing a state historic tax credits program
- Worked with others to revitalize the Highland Park Business District
- Initiated a door-to-door tree survey of the historic River Bend Neighborhood
- Consistently introduced legislation to increase the state minimum wage
- Stood on the picket line over two dozen times and organized a series of events in support of workers on strike at Firestone
- Introduced legislation to prevent hiring replacement workers
- Retired from the Legislature with a life-time AFL-CIO voting record of 88%
- Won an effort to approve an additional $600,000 for the Emergency Assistance Program to help low-income Iowans
- Authored a report documenting problems in the Department of Human Services relating to child abuse investigations
- Organized a series of public events to benefit families affected by high heating costs
- Changed a snag in the Iowa Code to allow a deceased state employee's spouse to continue receiving state health insurance benefits
- Drafted and helped pass legislation allowing senior citizens to use Medicare funds to receive in-home care as an alternative to going to a nursing home
- Vocally supported universal health care as the only comprehensive way to keep down the cost of medical care and prescription drugs
- Worked with a constituent to prevent passage of a bill that would have put his veterinary practice out of business
- Worked with owners of a small chicken processing facility in Shelby County to change a bureaucratic hurdle preventing them from selling their business
- Helped organize a grassroots campaign to promote independent businesses in Highland Park
- Successfully introduced legislation to include "Smart Growth" principles in the guidelines for Vision Iowa projects
- Co-founded 1000 Friends of Iowa, which educates citizens about the need to curb urban sprawl and revitalize Iowa's cities and towns
- Spearheaded a commission that studied land-use problems and recommended legislation to stop urban sprawl and fix-up older neighborhoods
- Conducted a study of three central Iowa cities, showing the cost of providing services to different types of development
- Led the charge against TIF, which has become a huge corporate subsidy
- Uncovered $350,000 in mismanaged funds within CIETC in 1993
- Voted against all budget bills that spend more taxpayer money than needed