Jonathan Narcisse:
None of the above
Former Des Moines school board member offers another option on Nov. 2 ballot
By Matt Miller
When former Des Moines school board member Jonathan Narcisse speaks of some day climbing Mount Everest, he does so with a passion comparable to the couple thousand individuals who have accomplished the feat. The 46-year-old Des Moines native has the goal of climbing the world’s tallest mountain — 29,029 feet above sea level — before the age of 50.
“I have every intention to climb Mount Everest in the next few years,” Narcisse said. “I’ve been inspired to do so since I was a young child. All of my life, I’ve been told I can’t do this or that, but having the world against me has inspired me throughout my life. I can do anything I put my mind to.”
Narcisse clearly wants to accomplish things others may think are impossible. That’s just the way he is. Some question his character, but don’t count out his intellect, his drive or his passion to make change. He’s a man with a checkered past who’s heard the grumblings of those around him many times. But love him or hate him, Narcisse, a publisher and community activist, hopes to bring his “I can do anything” mentality to the November ballot as an independent gubernatorial candidate. And he wants you to vote “none of the above.”
“I’m running for governor because Iowans are being molested by greedy people in politics,” Narcisse said. “Whether they’re Republicans or Democrats, the No. 1 problem in this state is corruption. Right now, Culver and Branstad are spending $35-$40 million destroying each other through TV ads. I hope my path to victory centers around Iowans being sick and tired of those two and voters choosing ‘none of the above.’”
Setting down roots
Raised in Des Moines, Narcisse was born to Fred and Gaynelle Narcisse. Fred was a marine who fought in the Korean War and also worked for the U.S. Postal Service. As a Des Moines native, Gaynelle helped run a senior citizen care center on Cottage Grove in Des Moines.
“In many ways, my father shaped me to who I am today,” Narcisse said. “He was a straight-forward person who meant what he said. A man is supposed to say what he means — that’s the great thing about America.”
Narcisse says his youthful experiences with his neighbors taught him that life isn’t easy, and nothing is a given.
“I grew up around people who survived some real hardships,” he said. “The things I saw and the stories I heard gave me perspective and patience to try and make change today.”
Educationally, Narcisse spent his days at Grant Elementary, Callanan Junior High and graduated from Des Moines Technical High School with core areas in radio and television in 1981. He was a varsity letterman in multiple sports and was also crowned a state chess champion. Narcisse attended Regis College, now Regis University in Denver, Colo., where he participated in tennis, fencing, and earned a spot on the Dean’s List. He graduated in 1983.
“Jonathan is a very knowledgeable man who has many great ideas,” said Rev. Rogers Kirk, pastor at Third Missionary Baptist Church in Davenport and who has known Narcisse for about 15 years. “He grew up among some hardships and has a wealth of knowledge. He knows a lot of people and works diligently to meet Iowans and address their issues.”
Narcisse’s list of civic accomplishments include serving as co-chair of the Polk County Democratic Party from 1984-86, serving on former Gov. Terry Branstad’s Inauguration Committee in 1987 and chair of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Blacks during the early 1990s. Narcisse was the editor of The Iowa West Bystander, the oldest black newspaper of the Mississippi River. It first published on June 8, 1894. He has also hosted a variety of radio station shows including “Only Permanent Interest” in Des Moines, focusing on political empowerment.
“I’m running for governor as an independent because these two men, Branstad and Culver, failed to fix the state of Iowa,” Narcisse said. “They’ve demonstrated over and over that they can’t do it.”
Today, Narcisse is the father of two daughters — Integrity and Perseverance — and a son, Ason. He is also the grandfather of three. Narcisse and his wife separated in 2003 although Narcisse says their relationship is still amicable. He currently publishes the El Communicator, Iowa Frontier, Education Times in Iowa and Iowa Campus Life.
Controversy on the board
Concerned with the Des Moines school district’s low graduation rates, Narcisse ran for a seat on the school board and was elected in September 2007. He won the second seat, receiving 3,029 votes to incumbent Marc Ward’s 2,922 votes. Ward had previously served nine years on the board over two different stretches. Narcisse served from 2007-09 before announcing he would not seek re-election.
“I ran for the Des Moines school board because it was obvious the graduation rates that were reported to the public were fraudulent,” Narcisse said. “I believe the Des Moines Public School District is the most powerful, entrenched, corrupt and protected division of local government in Iowa’s history.”
Board members, including former president Dick Murphy, found Narcisse consistently challenging to work with.
“Jon had difficulties as one of seven people on the school board,” said Murphy, who has been a member since 2005 and continues to serve today. “He often brought up issues that weren’t timely to discuss.”
Murphy stated he “disagrees on all accounts” of Narcisse’s claim that the school board is “entrenched, corrupt and protected.”
“Our books are always clean — our system been awarded and recognized many times because we do things right,” he said. “To say we’re corrupt, you would have to have an incident where corruption existed, and I don’t see that.”
Jeanette Woods, who also served alongside Narcisse, believes he brought adversity to the district.
“I believe he created a lot of negative publicity,” Woods said. “He was big into numbers and statistics, but the numbers he presented didn’t always make sense. You have to know what causes the numbers like the dropout rates and low-achieving schools to decrease, and I don’t think he understood that.”
Murphy agrees.
“Jon always had numbers, but I would question his ability to interpret those,” he said. “The graduation rate was never his issue — we were working on them before he joined the board. What he did do for the board though was to inform us that it wasn’t just a minority issue.”
Still Narcisse says it was evident board members had other matters on their minds.
“The board was more interested in buying public property than graduation rates and the well-being of students,” he said.
Controversy followed Narcisse when he challenged Murphy to a debate after Narcisse circulated information that was critical of Des Moines schools. Murphy declined, stating he would only debate candidates who were running for school board in September.
In September 2008, the school board attempted to censure Narcisse. Later that year, the Iowa Attorney General and the Polk County Attorney declined to pursue criminal charges against him. Then in November 2008 when a Roosevelt High School student e-mailed the school board asking for helping getting back on the wrestling team after he failed a class, Narcisse sent an e-mail encouraging him to improve academically. He also shared with the student a story about another student he once knew who ended up on a Des Moines street offering “oral sex” for money. As a result, the local media criticized Narcisse.
But at the same time, the district did see change while Narcisse was on board. Notably the district created a Code of Conduct and made improvements to school security and safety.
“Overall my experience on the Des Moines School Board was positive,” Narcisse said. “Toward the end of my time we all got along really well, but that’s when members started taking academics seriously.”
Murphy says academics have always been the board’s No.1 priority.
“We’ve always taken academics seriously, and it was taking place long before I was here,” Murphy said. “That’s the purpose of the school board — to make sure students receive a high-quality education that they can use the rest of their lives.”
Still others like Woods believe Narcisse’s time on the board was uneasy.
“It was frustrating working with him,” Woods said. “He had good ideas, but I don’t think he worked to improve them. He claimed he did this and that for the district, but we had those ideas in line before he came on board. We accomplished them as a whole, not individually.”
Run for governor
Nearly four months away from the Nov. 2 general election, Narcisse says he’s “sitting just fine” in regards to his run for Terrace Hill. Narcisse, a registered Democrat, declared on Feb. 27 that he would challenge Culver in the Democratic Primary, but decided to run independently a month later. (Narcisse did not submit signature petitions before the filing deadline.)
“I’ve been shaking a lot of hands and kissing a lot of babies,” said Narcisse, speaking of traveling on his 99-county campaign entitled “An Iowa Worth Fighting For.” (To be on the Nov. 2 ballot, he must collect more than 1,500 signatures from at least 10 counties by the Aug. 13 deadline.)
In the weeks following Narcisse’s announcement about his run for governor, the media, including this paper, took aim at his alleged lack of knowledge on Iowan issues, including not knowing the price of corn. Narcisse fired back, stating his idea of reorganizing government would answer those questions.
“I could have guessed the price of corn, but that wasn’t my point in not answering,” Narcisse said. “My point is the governor’s job isn’t to know everything but to surround himself with knowledgeable people who can get the job done. For example, I may not know the price of a catheter, but do I care? Medicare and Medicaid will pay for it.”
Narcisse’s 99-county campaign focuses on sharing with Iowans his idea to reconstruct state government by using an executive flow chart where he would appoint people who know how to organize and manage others from a top-down structure. His four pillars to his campaign include: 1) Creating efficient and accountable government; 2) Restoring a world-class education system; 3) Rebuilding a prosperous economy; and 4) Leading, by example, a healthy Iowa. Narcisse’s website, http://narcisseforiowa.com, says the above “will require more than simply reforming our current state and local government cultures. Systematic power must be challenged, privilege must be ended and corruption but be engaged.”
“Culver and Branstad have lost touch with working-class Iowans,” Narcisse said. “We must reorganize our state government to a much smaller entity so citizens know it’s accountable,” Narcisse said.
Christian radio commentator Steve Deace, who hosts a radio show on 1040 WHO-AM, says Narcisse must prove to Iowans he can lead the state.
“The key is for Jon to put together a professional campaign,” said Deace, who has known Narcisse for eight years. “He’s going outside the system as an independent, and he’s going to have to work a lot harder than Branstad and Culver.”
Narcisse has chosen Rick Marlar, a Washington County truck driver, as his lieutenant governor. Marlar finished third in the Republican primary in Iowa Senate District 45. The two met last fall at a tea party in Des Moines.
“The reason I picked Rick was because he is a person who has the right temperament, courage and attitude,” Narcisse said. “The way I’m constructing my campaign, I don’t need someone with experience running a billion dollar bureaucracy, but rather someone with experience.”
Marlar has been a truck driver for more than 30 years and is a former pilot who served four years in the submarine service. Marlar believes Narcisse has what it takes to upset Branstad and dethrone Culver.
“Jon is a great speaker with many ideas on how to make this state better,” said Marlar, who lives near Wayland. “He’s the type of person I am — he’s not looking to play politics; he’s looking to solve problems. He’s given a detailed plan on where we’re going and how we’re going to get there.”
This year’s governor’s race has been highlighted by the amount of money both Culver and Branstad have spent on TV ads attacking each other. According to campaign finances that were filed last week, Culver spent $781,219 on television advertising between Branstad’s June 8 Republican primary election and July 14. Branstad spent $508,000 on advertising time from June 8 through two weeks ago.
Tim Albrecht, spokesperson for the Branstad campaign, says Iowans should be sick of Culver’s attacks on the man who has served four terms as Iowa governor.
“Culver’s ads are fear mongering on the airwaves,” Albrecht said. “His ads are angry, fearful and misleading. Terry Branstad is going to continue to share his positive message for Iowans. It’s a clear choice with strong experience vs. the failed policies of the Culver administration.”
Still Narcisse says both parties have some things to learn.
“I look at some of the politicians, and they don’t understand that dreams are important,” he said. “The thing I grew up on was human dignity. Our society has lost that now.”
Currently, Culver and Branstad have raised significantly more money than Narcisse. According to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, Narcisse’s finances include $3,985 in total contributions, a $5,135 loan and $3,182.10 in cash in hand as of July 23. Originally when Narcisse challenged Culver in the Democratic primary, he said he would have to raise approximately $2 million to have a shot. The report shows Branstad raised nearly $2.15 million between June 2 and July 14, compared to Culver’s $765,755. Overall, Culver has $2.85 million to Branstad’s $1.58 million with only a few months left until the general election.
“When I do the math, I believe I have a chance,” Narcisse said. “I’m going to talk about what I can do. At first I didn’t think I had a chance in the world, but it’s not impossible.”
A tall mountain to climb
To date, more than 2,000 people have ascended Mount Everest with a couple hundred deaths recorded. Many others have tried and not succeeded. Time will tell if Narcisse can make it to Terrace Hill or actually scale Mount Everest. There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered, but he is willing to talk. If Narcisse is elected, all indications point to a new style of governing — one that some Iowans may be ready for.
“He can’t make any sloppy mistakes,” Deace said. “He’s going to have to hit the nail right on the head.”
Moreover, Narcisse believes he is the right man for the job.
“I’m pleased with where things (his campaign) are now,” Narcisse said. “We’re engaging Iowans in ways that Culver and Branstad can’t. Telling the truth is potent. That’s the unique advantage I have — I can talk when others aren’t willing to.” CV
