Where’s Chuck?

An alert reader pointed out to me today that U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley is in the midst of a 24-county Iowa tour during the congressional recess, but Linn County is not on his long list of stops.

The reader found it somewhat odd that Grassley is not holding a meeting here in Cedar Rapids, a place where fresh news of what’s happening in Washington D.C. would be eagerly received. Fair question.

 We’ve still got a lot of skin in the congressional game, and it would be nice to get a new flood relief play-by-play from our powerful senior senator.

I raised the issue with Grassley’s staff. One of his communications aides, Beth Pellett Levine, swiftly responded.

She first reminded me, as if I could every forget, that Grassley has visited all 99 counties every year he’s served in the Senate. He’s using this recess to get started on 2009. His schedule is simply a matter of geographic efficiency, she said:

To make the best use of his time and help Senator Grassley get to as many counties as possible, the meetings are often clustered in a specific area of the state. This week just happens to be in south central and southeast Iowa. He’s touring businesses and taking questions from employees, meeting with a young professional group, holding town hall meetings, and speaking with students at a high school.

Senator Grassley was in Cedar Rapids on official visits 6 times last year. I know of at least one other time he was there just to look around at how things were going following the floods. As you know the Technology Corridor was in Washington, D.C. in early February, so he had an opportunity to spend time with them. He was also scheduled to speak to the Cedar Rapids Jaycees two weekends ago, but had to cancel because of the Senate schedule.

And  it’s only a matter of time before the senator gets around to us again. But he gets tantalizingly close on this trip.

Here’s Grassely’s remaining tour schedule:

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Van Buren County Town Hall Meeting, Village Cups and Cakes, 202 Main Street, Keosauqua

10 – 11 a.m. Lee County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Siemens wind turbine blade facility, 2597 Highway 61, Fort Madison

Noon – 1 p.m. Des Moines County Town Hall Meeting, Burlington Public Library, Meeting Rooms A and B, 210 Court Street, Burlington

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Henry County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at MD Orthopaedics, 604 North Parkway Street, Wayland

5 – 6 p.m. Louisa County Town Hall Meeting, Wapello Ambulance Building, 400 Highway 61 South, Wapello

Thursday, February 19, 2009

7:15 – 8:15 a.m. Washington County Town Hall Meeting, Washington County Hospitals and Clinics, Robert Nicola Conference Room, 400 East Polk Street, Washington

*Attendees should enter through South Entrance

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Scott County Meeting, tour and meet employees and patients at Davenport Community Health Center, 500 West River Drive, Davenport

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. MuscatineCounty Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Bandag, NAM Award Presentation, Bandag Learning Center, 2000 Bandage Drive, Muscatine

5 – 6 p.m. Cedar County Town Hall Meeting, Mechanicsville Public Library, 218 East 1st Street, Mechanicsville

Friday, February 20, 2009

7:45 – 8:45 a.m. Clinton County Meeting, meet with Clinton High School Government Class, Clinton High School, 818 8th Avenue South, Clinton

10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Jackson County Town Hall Meeting, Hurstville Interpretive Center, Community Room, 18670 63rd Street, Maquoketa

1 – 2 p.m. Jones County Town Hall Meeting, Mary Lovell LeVan Monticello Renaissance Center, Community Media Center, 220 East 1st Street, Monticello

2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Delaware County Town Hall Meeting, Hopkinton Community Center, 115 1st Street SE, Hopkinton

Today’s Column — Dardis Defends RIO

On Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis’ last flight as a fighter pilot, a fan blade snapped inside the engine of his F-16.

He was forced to eject from about 9,000 feet. So, needless to say, the grilling he’s taking from state lawmakers as the new executive director of the Rebuild Iowa Office isn’t rattling his nerves.

The office, created by Gov. Chet Culver to coordinate flood response, hasn’t been running with military precision lately. State lawmakers are wondering about $19,000 to carpet the agency’s office, eye-popping overtime costs and why office staff includes Democratic political operatives.

Rebuild Iowa’s chief of staff, Emily Hajek, a former Culver campaign finance director, wilted under legislative questioning and made matters worse. Sensing big trouble, Culver picked Dardis to lead Rebuild Iowa on Feb. 6, weeks before he’s set to retire as adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard. The governor saw the need for adult supervision, fast.

Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, an RIO critic, says Dardis still has explaining to do. “He’s not a general anymore. He’s a bureaucrat.”

Not exactly. Culver has the power to keep Dardis in uniform. “I’ll be serving in a military status,” Dardis said. The guy in charge will still have stars.

I interviewed Dardis while he was in Cedar Rapids on Friday.

Question one: Is RIO still needed?

Dardis chaired last year’s Rebuild Iowa Commission, which charted a recovery blueprint. He feels strongly that RIO is still needed to help make that blueprint into policy. He argues the office is necessary to coordinate several state agencies, to synchronize state and federal efforts and to help secure more federal aid.

“It was determined early on that we did not have the capacity in state government to deal with a disaster of this magnitude,” Dardis said. “The dynamics of this recovery are mind-boggling.”

How is he cleaning up the budget?

Dardis reviewed RIO’s state request and sliced it from $2 million down to around $1.3 million. Overtime projections were cut and all overtime must now be approved. Dardis said he’s reviewing qualifications of RIO staff members and their salary levels. But he defended Hajek and says the carpet issue is a “distraction.” Lawmakers should get budget numbers this week.

Why is RIO headquartered in Des Moines and not in the disaster zone?

Dardis argues his office needs to be close to the agencies it coordinates. I say if RIO is so indispensable, why is only one staffer assigned to the worst-hit city? He sees my point but isn’t changing his mind. I guess we just disagree.

Does RIO need a lobbyist?

Dardis insists Susan Judkins is a government “liaison,” not a lobbyist. That sets off my give-me-a-break alarm, but he insists her primary duty will be to work with local governments, not lobby lawmakers.

Bottom line, Dardis is a straight-shooter with 43 years of military service under his belt. I’m inclined to give him a chance to run the show and see what happens. He seems determined to rebuild public trust in the agency. But if he can’t do it, it’s time for Plan B.

Tuesday Reads — Stairway to Breathalyzer

It’s almost prom season. There are so many decisions to make. Who to take, what to wear, should my tie and cummerbund match the color of the school’s alcohol detection wand?

At least that’s the case in Mason City, where high school officials are considering screening hundreds of prom-goers with an “Intoximeter” as they enter the prom, according to the Mason City Globe-Gazette. Magic. Parents can line up and get photos of Johnnie and Jannie blowing on the wand. He passed! She passed!

Have fun.

Mason City High principal Doug Kennedy told the school board that six kids showed up drunk last year. So that means testing for 400 to 600 kids expected to attend the prom on April 25. Three other schools in Mason City’s conference do the same at dances. Mason City used to send chaperones out to sniff for boozers, but they were thwarted by mouthwash etc. Now they’re going high-tech. Kids who get caught will be turned over to police. But it will all be handled discreetly, he said.

Maybe a wand should also be installed at the door of the Statehouse, where lawmakers insist on moving ahead with a gas tax increase, even though it would almost certainly be vetoed by Gov. Culver. The Des Moines Register reports that an 8-cent increase would mean a $40 annual tax hike for a driver that drives 12,000 miles in a car that gets 25 miles to a gallon. Backers say the state’s roads are falling apart and money is needed to fix them.

The Register and The Gazette each note that Culver still says no. And he points to the $358 million in transportation funds Iowa gets from the federal stimulus bill as more evidence a tax hike is not needed.

Also in The Gazette story, Rod Boshart gives an overview of yesterday’s budget developments. Culver says the $1.9 billion Iowa gets from the stimulus does not change his plans to cut the state budget. But across the Capitol, Republican State Auditor Dave Vaudt asks, “What cuts?’

Vaudt, a possible GOP challenger for Culver, says the governor cuts some programs, scoops and shifts money into others and at the bottom line, his massive cuts add up to pretty small potatoes. The auditor also argues the budget is broken not because of a bad economy or natural disasters, but because of overspending.  Guess who gets the blame? Culver’s spokesman chalks Vaudt’s criticism up to his gubernatorial ambitions, although this is the same sort of budget shenanigans Vaudt has been complaining about for years.

The Rebuild Iowa Budget is getting a trimming, so says the governor. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson says salaries in particular will be “scaled back significantly.”

I sat down with RIO”s executive director, Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis, and have a column this morning on our conversation. He said the office’s original $2 million state budget request will be trimmed to $1.3 million. I’d link to the column, but no one at The Gazette bothered to post it. Maybe later.