Mediaboss Marketing

A group of four candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor in Iowa crowded into Davenport's Duck Creek Lodge on Sunday, as part of the annual Scott County Democratic Picnic.

Nate Boulton, Andy McGuire, Jon Neiderbach and John Norris all addressed the crowd of about 100 people who included local candidates, activists, families and children.

One of the many activists was Troy Price, recently named the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

Price, a native of Durant, Iowa, fired up the crowd: "We won't back down," he said; "We'll continue to fight and win in 2018!"

Price saluted what he called a strong slate of candidates for governor, as well as several candidates who were present for school board and city council positions.

There is enthusiasm for the Democratic Party across Iowa, he said, vowing to change the course of the state party by organizing it "from the ground up, not the top down."

"We'll focus not only on Davenport, but on Blue Grass, and Durant, my hometown," he said, suggesting one of the candidates would take the governor's office, and a Democratic wave would retake the Iowa Legislature.

Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is a state senator and he promised an all-out effort to win both the Iowa House of Representatives, and Iowa Senate.

"We might be seeing a recurring nightmare at the national level, but we are living a recurring nightmare on the local level," Hogg said.

The first gubernatorial candidate to speak was Boulton, a native of Columbus Junction, Iowa. He is an attorney, a resident of East Des Moines, and state senator.

"Yes, the election of 2016 was rough, but we haven't given up," he said. "The path to victory in Iowa is to show Iowans, we are better than this."

Bolton challenged the crowd to think what the state would look like if public education was fully funded. He supports clean natural resources, as well as funding for tourism and the state's recreational areas.

Dr. McGuire, a native of Waterloo, is running for governor and also was chairman of the Democratic Party in 2016. Party losses last year were the result of a national wave of success by Republicans, she said, even as officials worked hard on the election.

A nuclear scientist, McGuire said she cares about Iowans, and supports health insurance as a personal right, not a choice. She also supports more funding for mental health issues in Iowa.

If elected, the mother of seven children and one grandchild, said she'd restore funding to Planned Parenthood. She also promotes respect for teachers: "I will see that we provide the best education to every child in every zip code in Iowa," she said.

Attorney Neiderbach, also of Des Moines, sees a bright future for Iowa, even as he agreed his last name is hard for people to spell. A former president of the Des Moines School Board, Neiderbach said many people feel the system is rigged against them.

He ran through several scenarios to prove his case, and advocated for campaign finance reform, saying that is "at the heart of all that is wrong in our democratic election system." He suggested 100,000 people each contribute $10 to a campaign.

It will take an army of Democrats to fight the GOP successfully, Neiderbach said. "Please consider me."

Norris was the final gubernatorial candidate of the day; a former aide to Senator Tom Harkin and President Barack Obama, Norris comes from a family farm in Red Oak, Iowa. He is a former chairman of Iowa Democratic Party who helped Tom Vilsack to be elected, the first Democrat to win the top job in more than 30 years. Vilsack encouraged Norris to get into the 2018 race, he said.

Many Iowans have lost faith in Gov. Kim Reynolds, Norris said. Sheis more interested in being on the Koch brothers' "Christmas list," than in improving education in Iowa, he said, referring to the billionaire family from Kansas.

He supports better stewardship for land and water in the state, a position he argues should cross party lines. He would like to see wages raised to $15 an hour, he said.

Norris started his campaign in Storm Lake, Iowa, to show his respect for two former governors: Vilsack, and Robert Ray, a Republican.

Vilsack's Vision Iowa program improved many amenities in Iowa, Norris said, and Ray was a champion of immigrants, inviting people of Laos to come to Iowa. That has proven to be a huge benefit to the state.

Emilyne Slagle, vice chairman of Scott County Democrats, was the event's emcee. By working deep into our grassroots," she said. "We will change Iowa from the ground up."

Read this article:
Democrats greet 4 gubernatorial candidates at picnic - Quad City Times