But you can't kick an old, sick man

As Cityview reported first, the condition of Leonard Boswell is much worse than his staffers have let on, following 13 hours of what a top state Democrat called "major invasive life-threatening surgery." What exactly the procedure entailed is unknown, but rumors persist that an organ or organs were removed, and Boswell, who has lost some 50 pounds, has been forced to change his lifestyle significantly due to ramifications of the surgery. Complicating matters further is the fact that Boswell's wife, Dody, is said to not be well either. "He is being urged to go back to the farm," our source said. "He's 71 and not doing well. Like anything, there is a beginning to a political career and there is an end. This is the end. He needs to be with his family. He needs some down time." But whether or not the long-time civil servant and war hero will go softly into that good night of retirement is quite another question. And, as we pointed out last week, it has a number of folks scrambling. With Boswell holding the state's only Democratic seat in Congress, party people want to make sure it isn't lost in the shuffle.

One thing is certain, however, and that is that Chet Culver will not be abandoning his campaign for governor, no matter what Boswell decides. We listed a number of scenarios in this column last week, but a source close to Culver said that he will indeed "not reverse course." "What you guys don't seem to get is that Chet has (Mike) Blouin tripled up on name recognition, he's raised $750,000 and is well on his way to $1 million, and hasn't really even begun to campaign or tap Washington for cash. He's keeping his head down and making phone calls. Mike can have all the endorsements he wants. That's just background noise six months before the primary. Chet wants the money, because Chet wants to be the one telling the story."

So where does that leave the Democrats who are staring down a fight against Jeff Lamberti, who has the money, energy and time needed to run a successful campaign for Boswell's seat? Well, like the pressure Boswell is feeling to retire, Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson is slowly but surely starting to feel it to replace Boswell if he decides to do so. "Jeff can go full-throttle, and Leonard cannot," said one statehouse insider. "That said, you can't kick an old, sick man. If he stays, we're all in. But we're holding out he'll do what's best for the party." Which is how one would define Pederson: doing anything for the party (well, almost anything; she did turn down a clear shot at the gubernatorial nomination). Our sources have told us she's not looking to get involved, but if she is called upon to do so would likely run. "Just like she took over the state party, if she views it as a role she has to fill, she'll step up. She always has stepped up." It is also, our source added, an opportunity to break through the glass ceiling. And, in the end, "She can raise more money than even Vilsack can and is better connected. Sally keeps the seat." Still, another source asked us: "If she didn't want to be governor, where she'd at least be with her husband and son, why would she want to go to Washington where she'd be away from her family and just one voice out of 435?" If Pederson were to opt out, the names we've heard thus far are state Sens. Matt McCoy and Jack Hatch, State Rep. Janet Petersen, current Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie and former Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels.

Speaking of Matt McCoy, the state Senator will likely face Republican Nick Van Patten in a battle for his seat. McCoy, who is gay, has been targeted by conservatives; but a top Republican source told us that with three Republicans retiring in a tight race for the majority, pouring resources into a district that is 64 percent Democratic, won't happen. "We'll be concentrating on the seats we want to hold onto," our source said. "We can't afford to lose anything. We ran the only person we could at McCoy (Kay Lozier) who had a chance and she got beat by 3,000 votes. Gay or not, the guy's not beatable there, and we've got bigger fish to fry."

Now back to the subject of Jack Hatch. An East Village business leader responded to our piece last week about the senator and his East Village Square project, telling us, "Jack says he doesn't need money and his financing is in place. He just wants money to make improvements. This is called a half-truth. See, when Dewey Lube gets torn down, that west wall of Jack's project will be exposed. And while it's up to code, ultimately I'd guess he'll have an order to make improvements and thus will NEED money to do so. In case you haven't noticed, the people down here like things to be a certain way and are pretty vicious about it."

And lastly, look for Polk County Sheriff Dennis Anderson to hang up his holster next time around. The jail project he got out in front of is leaking like the Titanic, a top Polk insider told us, and Anderson would "swing" if he dared put his name on the ballot again. "The project is significantly short of cash (some say as much as $10 million) and all the money we'll get from housing federal prisoners and not sending our prisoners elsewhere won't be realized because of how much it will cost us in new personnel to run it." Des Moines cop Kelly Willis, who ran against Anderson last time, will run again, and we hear he has the backing of heavyweights like Polk County Supervisor John Mauro and go-to-guy Ed Skinner. CV

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