Vander Plaats mightily shunned

Gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats tried to play it off as a win, but he's smarting something fierce, we're told, now that most of his party's legislators have already thrown their support behind Congressman Jim Nussle. Vander Plaats says it shapes up to be an insider-outsider battle. But the fact is, not a lot of legislators who endorse ever do any work for the gubernatorial nominee. What it reflects, according to a top Republican strategist, is the public sentiment that Nussle is the near-certain nominee - even this early in the game. Nussle has made occasional visits with legislators over the years but he has never truly courted them. Vander Plaats, however, tried very hard to win legislative support and only has two or three of his area legislators backing him. "It's an indication that people who know how to win elections think Vander Plaats cannot win the primary," our source said. "They're just not convinced that he's ready for prime time and, frankly, I think there is some justified resentment and concern that the guy has never held public office and thinks he's going to start at the top. Every politician has to have a healthy ego, but there's strong sentiment that Vander Plaats is simply over the top in the department."

Des Moines city manager Eric Anderson sent a note to his council members on April 21 telling them about his job-hunting trip to Tacoma, Wash., this week. The memo arrived in Cityview's office within a couple of hours, but the story didn't appear in The Register until April 27. Two things strike us about this: 1. Perhaps we should be the daily and they should be the weekly. 2. If The Register is the best daily in the Gannet chain, how long do you suppose it would take the other Gannet papers to report such a significant story? Also, everyone in the know at Des Moines City Hall thinks Anderson is likely to be offered the Tacoma job and take it. Anderson cancelled a vacation and stayed at home to study up for his interview this week. Anderson owns property in the area already and has family there. A city council member told us that a majority of that body has already started talking about a pay range and replacement procedure.

Insiders say bet on the Polk County Conservation Board to be the entity that takes over the old Science Center of Iowa building. That group wants to use it as an environmental nature study facility and is capable of coming up with the $1.5 million needed for repairs to the structure.

Mark Holub owed a whole lot of people a whole lot of money when he filed for bankruptcy the other day, we're told. The owner of ArtHouse gallery and eatery owed more than 100 people a total of more than $1 million, according to his 68-page bankruptcy petition. Among those stuck, and unlikely to collect even a penny: 51 artists. In at least some cases, he sold their paintings, took the money, and never passed it on to the artists. Others stuck include several bakeries, a bunch of investors, and the government. It turns out Holub apparently treated the Internal Revenue Service the same way he treated some artists: collecting from the buyer but not passing the money along. According to the petition, he owes the IRS $14,888 in payroll taxes from 2003 and $26,000 in sales taxes from 2004. Among the people listed as investors - now unsecured creditors who don't stand much of a chance of collecting anything: Warren Hunsberger, $25,000; the late Tom Ghrist, $25,000; Ellen DeLathauder, $10,000. Food suppliers owed money range from the South Union Bakery ($5,835) to Maharishi Vedic City Organic Farms ($34.85). Others on the list include The Des Moines Register ($2,192), Roto-Rooter ($497.44) and Holub's Ingersoll neighbor, Chocolaterie STAM (965.01). Landlords were stuck big time - the folks at Valley West Mall have a $500,000 claim, and R&R Investors/Dallas County Partners has a judgment for unpaid rent of $110,000, according to the petition. "Holub apparently is just a bad businessman," said one individual who is out money. The petition doesn't indicate what he did with the money he took in, but he apparently didn't give it to himself. Last year, according to the petition, he paid himself only $16,000. That's little solace to the artists and vendors who are stuck, however. No surprise #1: The answering machine at ArtHouse is too full to take any more messages. And Holub isn't returning e-mail messages. No surprise #2: The one person who has been paid by Holub is the lawyer who worked on the bankruptcy petition. Curtis McCormick has received $991 for his work on the bankruptcy.

Sen. Mark Zieman just can't stop "pulling it out and stepping on it," according to a top statehouse Democrat. A few days after he referred to state employees as "bottom feeders" (think that will show up on any campaign literature?) and then it was revealed he has received close to $1 million in farm subsidies, Zieman, we're told, pushed hard to include the trucking industry in the Grow Iowa Values Fund, which makes available tax credits to Iowa-owned companies. Well, guess who owns a trucking company in Luana? Yes indeed, Zieman himself has Cherry Valley Trucking. "Talk about a guy with his hand out," said a fellow lawmaker. "He redefines corporate welfare. He's an embarrassment to the entire Iowa Senate."

And finally, just how bad have things gotten for the Democratic Party of Iowa? On a recent Saturday, Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson was picking weeds in the parking lot at party headquarters by herself. A few days later Pederson was spotted at Thai Flavors. At a nearby table was former Congressman Greg Ganske... Timothy L. Raftis, who is heading up Chet Culver's exploratory committee in his run for governor, is also president of Timmy Toes, a toe-ring company... Popular South Sider George Davis appears to be getting ready to take on not Christine Hensley for Des Moines City Council, but Michael Kiernan for his at-large seat. The East Side has no ward vote and no mayor is running, so the South and West sides will win it, experts have said. Davis has no interest in taking on Hensley in just her ward, but would rather have the entire South Side - where he will be backed by John Mauro and his organization - and pick up many Hensley supporters on the West Side, too, while targeting East Side voters who will not be distracted. Davis and all other candidates need their papers in order by June 1... The Downtown Events Group was given $25,000 by The Des Moines Register, as well as $50,000 in free advertising to ensure that no locally owned mediums would be used to promote their events (such as The Des Moines Arts Festival). The Downtown Events Group is under the umbrella of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, which is, coincidentally chaired by Register publisher Mary Stier and encourages people and businesses to "Buy Local"... And finally, Sen. Mike Gronstal will be doing polling in the very near future and "if he's known, he's in (for a Democratic primary for governor against Culver, Mike Blouin and Ed Fallon)." CV

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