On the mend or not, plans are being made

The illness of Rep. Leonard Boswell is still a huge mystery, despite press releases stating contrarily, we're told - a 13-hour operation and three weeks in the hospital is no small matter. And according to a top-level state Democrat, here are the possible ramifications: 1. A big break for opponent Jeff Lamberti. The Ankeny senator can keep raising money and campaigning while Boswell is ailing, and even after Boswell recovers (assuming he does) he likely won't be up to his full game. UNLESS... 2. Boswell is so sick he can't run or decides this is a warning signal and he should take it easy and retire, then Chet Culver steps in, aided by big money he has already raised and can raise and runs a strong race in a Democratic district, putting him in Congress (although a number of heavyweights already meeting wouldn't want Culver to reverse course and are throwing around names like Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson as a possible Boswell successor) and in line ultimately to succeed Charles Grassley or Tom Harkin. If that happened, then... 3. Mike Blouin has a clear path to the Democratic nomination for governor, as it takes a combination of Patty Judge and Ed Fallon and Culver to keep him from getting the 35 percent necessary to avoid a convention. Without Culver, Blouin gets more than 35 percent and doesn't have to go to convention - where he would likely lose because of his pro-life position. It also would free up money for Blouin, who isn't doing as well as he should be doing in that regard. The only possible barrier to Blouin, then, would be if Shenandoah Mayor Greg Connell somehow catches on in his recently announced gubernatorial run - but while Connell is probably the smartest of the candidates, he's also the poorest, has no organization yet, is little known in the state, and comes from a corner of Iowa where there's little Democratic base to build on. In other words, under one scenario, the illness of Democrat Boswell could be a wonderful thing politically for fellow Democrats Culver and Blouin.

Speaking of Lamberti, GOP officials tell us that he will soon announce that he's resigning as Senate co-president, allowing him to focus more on his run for Boswell's congressional seat. Who his replacement will be, however, has taken a dramatic change, of course. Creston Sen. Jeff Angelo had the votes locked up, after graciously withdrawing his challenge to Lamberti for the position, which followed Mary Kramer's resignation in 2003. However, Sen. Larry McKibben has been making rumblings for months, threatening a direct challenge to Stewart Iverson and his leadership team. McKibben may get his wish after all, as holier-than-thou Angelo and his wife have dived into a nasty divorce, and he has since taken up residence in a Creston apartment. "That will be the ultimate kick in the balls for Angelo's chances," said one GOP insider. "Personal problems such as a divorce will make it hard enough to get elected back in his own district, let alone win the support of his colleagues. They won't want someone leading them with that much baggage." Still, senate moderates are frantically looking for someone - anyone - to run against McKibben.

Pat Murphy, the Democratic leader of the House, told a Civic Skinny source that he has decided not to run for Jim Nussle's Congressional seat. There was much speculation about whether he would run, joining the three other Democrats already in it. But like Sen. Mike Gronstal, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Murphy sees Democratic control of the Legislature coming in 2006 and wants to be there when it happens. He'd be Speaker under those conditions.

Don't expect any great lovefest to develop between Polk County Supervisor John Mauro and the downtown interests. Mauro, who can hold a grudge, has long been smarting over the anti-Italian ads the group ran when the horribly run city-county merger was on the ballot (they were for it and he was against it, and it lost), so he was less than cool to some of their subsequent requests for help on various projects, even though he helped round up the votes to give Drake University $1 million for its stadium renovation and the Science Center of Iowa $1 million for its new building. How did the downtown folks make nice? They sponsored a fund raiser for his upcoming election. The amount taken in: an almost insulting $2,300.

Look for Nationwide Insurance to announce soon a major addition to their building on Walnut. They and their lawyer, Doug Gross, are making the rounds to city, county and state officials looking for the usual tax money and tax breaks. They don't need the money - but neither did Wells Fargo or Meredith, both of which got handouts - but they'll probably get it. "They're a good employer," says a state official, adding that giving to the rich is "all part of the game" these days.

The Jack Hatch-East Village Square saga continues, according to a memorandum between him and the Des Moines City Manager's Office. We asked Hatch pointblank at the beginning of last month if he needed more money to complete his project after a top city official told us he had been looking around for more funds, and the Sherman Hill Senator told us "no." But correspondence from City Manager Rick Clark, dated four days before we sat down with Hatch, confirms Hatch was looking: "Jack, I have been copied on some of the recent e-mails regarding a possible request for added city funding for the East Village Square. In the interest of being upfront with you, I need to remind you that the city staff cannot recommend any additional funding for East Village Square - and this includes both city TIF dollars as well as city HOME dollars. Upon our recommendation, (the) council did approve some adjustments in your contract that allowed the city to advance our dollars earlier in the project which was advantageous to the project but did not increase the total funding from the city. I am sympathetic with the challenges you face with a project that is as complex as East Village Square. But when the council approved the contract it was done so with the clear understanding that no additional city dollars would be requested. As a matter of comparison, Hubbell/Bookey's Court Avenue Project faced a significant shortfall in funding when the State HOME dollars were not allocated as had been planned. But the city did not allocate additional dollars to make up the shortfall. Within the confines of our contract we will do everything we can to facilitate your project. But we can't recommend more money from the city." - Rick. When we forwarded the correspondence onto Hatch, asking him why we had told us he didn't need more money, he responded by telling us the financing is secured, so he doesn't "need" more money, but that the money would rather be used for improvements - like a better wall on the west side of the structure not covered in the agreement. A developer's fee could be deferred to in order to make such a wall happen, but Hatch's fee, he told us, has already been deferred. "These projects are a bit more complicated than building a house," Hatch wrote us in an e-mail. "Your source is just pulling your chain or just not very smart." Said our source who has dealt with the situation hands on and been privy to our correspondence with Hatch: "This is a pattern with Jack. He really believes that if the greater good (better wall on the west) is served by lying, then lying is the right thing to do. He is basically saying, 'I am not lying about needing more money, because the money I am asking for is significant to me.' He IS asking for more money and telling you that he is NOT. He asked that you do not run the story because it is not true, all the while requesting that if you run the story, please tell his side of it so people know the money is important and complex." Meanwhile, a private investigator has been calling around trying to figure out who in local government has been giving information on the Hatch project to this publication.

And lastly, the opportunity Mo Dana cannot pass up in New York is "not a guy," despite what numerous sources have told us. Said Dana, "I have not found a full-time sponsor." CV

Comment on this story | Return to top