Des Moines Register
06-06-06
Change rare in Iowa governor's office
With no term limit on its top office, the state has had only three leaders in the last
40 years.
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Think of it this way: In almost 40 years, the Vatican and the U.S. Supreme Court
have changed leaders as often as Iowans have elected a new governor.
Since 1969 — the year man first walked on the moon — Iowa has had just three
governors, which is the same number of new popes and chief justices during that
time.
So today is a bit of an occasion in Iowa. Until today, Iowa voters have only had
two chances since 1968 to pick candidates for governor without an incumbent
seeking re-election.
The competition today is to succeed Gov. Tom Vilsack as the state's Democratic
standard-bearer, with former state economic development director Mike Blouin,
Secretary of State Chet Culver and state Rep. Ed Fallon struggling to inspire
primary voters.
Like Republican governors Terry Branstad and Robert Ray before him, Vilsack is
leaving under his own terms. He chose not to seek re-election. However, Vilsack
will have served only eight years when he leaves in January, compared to 14 for
Ray and 16 for Branstad.
The 2006 Republican primary ceased to be competitive in February when Bob
Vander Plaats gave up his bid to run as U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle's running mate.
But why has the position had so little turnover?
Iowa is among 12 states that does not limit the number of terms its governor can
serve, a situation that compounds the voting public's tendency to return
officeholders.
"As a country, we favor incumbents," said Dianne Bystrom, an Iowa State
University political science professor. "That's the way the whole political
system works."
But there's more to it than that.
Iowa has had fewer governors in the past 40 years than even its 11 peers that
allow governors to run until they quit or the voters turn them out.
New York comes closest to Iowa's low turnover, with four governors in that time.
Most other states have had six or more. "I think it speaks to the stability that
Iowans value," said Eric Woolson, who worked as a spokesman for Branstad.
"There's always been that sense that Iowans respect somebody if they think they
are doing a good job."
Mike Gronstal, Democratic leader in the Iowa Senate, said Iowans have a hard
time firing governors, but less difficulty dealing an incumbent governor a
Legislature of the opposite party.
"As long as they keep running, they get the benefit of the doubt," said Gronstal,
of Council Bluffs. "The Legislature has changed back and forth more often than
the governors."
And despite today's relative significance to recent political history, turnout among
Democrats is expected to be low, perhaps lower with three candidates running
than eight years ago when there were only two.
Some primary-voting Democrats, like Rich McCabe of Mount Pleasant, have said
voter apathy is the result of the onset of summer and a drumbeat of bad news
emanating from Washington, D.C. "I don't think I've had a political conversation in
two months," said McCabe, 60.
But some Democrats have said Vilsack has contributed to apathy himself by
taking actions seen as steps away from traditional party positions, including
signing a 2002 law establishing English as Iowa's official language and backing
away from an effort to promote immigration to Iowa.
A Des Moines Register poll taken last week showed 50 percent of Democratic
primary voters were ready for a change, while 41 percent wanted the next
governor to continue in the same direction as Vilsack.
"I think there's been some dissatisfaction with Vilsack. That's part of it," said Tom
Glenn, a 68-year-old Des Moines Democrat.