PLA issue coming to a head

County sources have let us know that the PLA issue on the new jail is coming to a head. The latest news - Building Trades leaders held meetings with Polk County Supervisor John Mauro, Polk County County Attorney John Sarcone and Sarcone's assistant Mike O'Meara. Apparently the Trades offered to allow a neutral third party (they suggested a retired judge) to determine if the lawsuit threatened by contractor organizations if the county signed a project labor agreement had any merit. If the arbitrator would have determined that the suit would block the project, the unions would have agreed to back off from their request. If he determined the suit had no merit, they expected Mauro to keep his original promise (before the jail project went before the Polk County voters, Mauro signed a document stating that he would support a PLA for the jail) and support a PLA for the new jail. Mauro, detractors say, has decided against trying to bring the unions and the contractors together to work things out, and continues his opposition to a PLA. "Johnny's just trying to cover himself by placing the blame on Sarcone's office. He's told more than one person that all he's doing is taking the advice of Mike (O'Meara) and John (Sarcone), and if they'd tell him a PLA would not cause delays in the project he'd keep his promise," our source said. "Of course, he doesn't mention that Angela Connolly and Tom Hockensmith have the same information and other people in the know are telling him that the contractors are unlikely to wage an expensive legal battle against a jail PLA when they got their ass handed to them when they sued Polk County over the Iowa Events Center PLA." PLA supporters are still wondering why Mauro isn't telling the Master Builders to take a hike, saying if he is really concerned about delays he wouldn't be knuckling under to contractors and their bogus threats, and he'd be more concerned about the potential of real delays which could be caused by actions taken by union members who are unlikely to cross picket lines set up by crafts that are shut out of the project. Another individual close to the dispute told us that he doubts Sarcone would enjoy taking unions to court to end work stoppages, but that might be the position he finds himself in. To add fuel to the fire, bids have been taken to do the site work for the jail, and local union contractors like Duane McAninch have been aced out by a non-union contractor from Northeast Iowa. "When they break ground for the new jail, the guys with the silver shovels for the ceremonial first scoop photo-op are going to be doing their thing in front of a hundred protesters and a 20-foot inflatable rat that they bring out for these occasions," our source said. "This could be the first groundbreaking ceremony held at two o'clock in the morning." We've learned that the Building Trades have asked Hockensmith and Connolly to bring a proposed PLA before the Polk County Board of Supervisors within the next month for a formal vote.

Congressman Leonard Boswell continues to issue releases about his days as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam regarding his recent illness. These releases say he is a fighter and will be back on the trail soon. Cityview reported first about the seriousness of Boswell's condition and that Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson is the frontrunner to replace him if he opts out in his run against challenger Jeff Lamberti. We mentioned a number of others who could get a look if Boswell retires and Pederson doesn't want it, but now we're hearing that John Norris, who is on the Iowa Utilities Board and has run for Congress before, is looking to fill the potential position if it opens up. Norris doesn't live in the district, but he did before moving to Ames to challenge Tom Latham in 2004.

Nothing scandalous about the campaign to replace Patty Judge for Secretary of Agriculture? Read this: Mark Leonard, a farmer and banker from Holstein and the self-nominated front-runner for the Republican nomination for the position, is so worried that he can't win the June primary that he recently met with not-yet-announced candidate Karey Claghorn to urge her not to run. According to a mole, Leonard told Claghorn, "If you want a state job, I will get you one." Leonard, a top state source told us, ran and lost big before, but he's back to try it again anyway, knowing his only chance is to avoid a real primary campaign, especially against a Des Moines-area woman whose husband is a big exec at Ruan. Leonard has been begging and bullying Claghorn for weeks to urge her to stay out of the race, and his latest desperate plea took place in a face-to-face meeting he arranged at the Capitol. Claghorn, we heard, told Leonard that her candidacy isn't about getting a job, but about providing real leadership for the state. The race, which was certain to be low-key and cordial, is now going to be one of the races to watch. Said a source close to Claghorn's campaign, "We're going to kick Mark Leonard's sorry ass."

An all-staff meeting to squelch rumors that the Press Citizen publications were folding was held recently by top local Gannett brass. More and more, an individual at the meeting told us, employees are being forced to do their work at the Register offices instead of the office on Southwest Fifth, while wearing badges that read: "Guest" so people were starting to wonder... And lastly, even though there have been rumblings about possibly relocating the all-but-dried-up rain forest idea from Coralville to Des Moines, if anyone involved would bother to look at the federal pork legislation regarding the project, they would notice it calls for the behemoth to be built only in Johnson County. CV

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