Determined Branstad charges back into public life

Cedar Rapids Gazette ^ | 28 July 2011 | The Gazette Opinion Staff

[iowamark]

Any Iowan who possessed reservations about whether Terry Branstad still had the fire in his belly to be governor at the age of 63 and after 12 years out of elected office can put them aside.

In the first six months of his fifth term as the state’s chief executive, Branstad should have erased any doubts within the state about his passion and energy for the job and its responsibilities. You may disagree with his positions on issues, but you can’t make the argument he isn’t fully engaged.

To be honest, we have been surprised at the intensity and determination with which Branstad has pursued priorities on multiple fronts so far this year. He strikes us more aggressive in his leadership style than we remember him in earlier terms. At any rate, he’s not eased quietly back into public life.

Whether one opposes or supports the Branstad agenda in this first year of his new four-year term, one shouldn’t be surprised by it. During the campaign, Branstad was clear about the direction he wanted to take the state. From the size and construction of the budget, to the reduction of taxes, to smaller government, to an improved business climate, to an overhaul of the Department of Economic Development, Branstad has followed the general principles he outlined as a candidate and on which he was elected.

That, in our view, is to his credit.

With the long, contentious legislative session behind him, Branstad forged on to the issue of education reform. A two-day education summit organized by Branstad was recently held.

One area in which we urge Branstad to exercise caution and avoid overreaching is personnel. A pair of high-profile changes in leadership positions pushed by Branstad over the last two months raised questions in our minds.

First, he asked Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles of Dallas Center and President Pro Tem Jack Evans of Cedar Rapids to step down from those posts. Branstad’s choice for president, Craig Lang of Brooklyn, was approved for the position by the Regents. Branstad appointee Bruce Rastetter of Ames was chosen president pro tem.

Second, he reduced the salary of Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey from $109,000 to $73,529 a year because he refused to submit his resignation (as Branstad requested he and other state directors do after he was elected governor in November).

In our view, Branstad didn’t articulate in satisfactory fashion the reasons he took the rare, if not unprecedented step of asking leaders on the Regents board to step down before their terms were over or why he suddenly wants to replace Godfrey (who was approved for a new six-year term in 2009 by the Senate on a 49-0 vote).

When challenged about the Godfrey decision by a caller to a WHO-Radio program on July 12, Branstad said, “Talk to the Association of Business and Industry, they are the ones that encouraged me to make a change there.” The following day, the president of the ABI told The Des Moines Register neither he nor members of his staff have pushed for the removal of Godfrey.

In our view, these decisions smack of the unwise injection of politics into places we and we believe most Iowans want free from political influence.

The governor should provide a fuller explanation for these personnel moves. If they were based on politics, why is this good for the state? If they weren’t, then why specifically were they made?

Yes, Branstad is a strong governor, perhaps stronger than he was before, but he isn’t above providing Iowans with answers to those questions.

[iowamark]

[iowamark]

http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/article_5cfa9748-b991-11e0-b908-001cc4c002e0.html
“Branstad under fire for vetoes; Democrats consider override”

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Go, Branstad!! Clean house!!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Good.