Businesswoman, political consultant, author and advocate for women's issues Kathy Groob will be keynote speaker at the 50-50 in 2020 Blueprint for Winning Academy banquet, taking place Friday night, January 10, 2014, at the West Des Moines Marriott.
Groob, who founded and facilitates ElectWomen.com, is author of "Pink Politics: The Women's Practical Guide to Winning Elections."
As as entrepreneur who served as senior vice president of a $716 million construction and real estate company in her home state of Kentucky, Groob has been a mentor and advocate for women in the workplace throughout her career. Her own experiences in running for and holding local and state offices provides Groob with real-world lessons in politics that she uses to instruct women candidates on how to inspire voters and get the most from campaign teams.
"I am honored to take part in Iowa's 50-50 in 2020 Blueprint for Winning Academy to train and prepare more women to hold public office," Groob said. "Iowa is one of four states that have never sent a woman to Congress. The leaders of 50-50 in 2020 are taking strong steps towards changing the face of politics in Iowa forever."
Complimentary copies of "Pink Politics" will be given to all those attending the Blueprint for Winning Academy and to those purchasing two tickets for the January 10 academy banquet. Dinner tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased through the 50-50 Web site at 50-50in2020.org.
Participation in 50-50's bi-partisan Blueprint for Winning Academy is open to all Iowa women considering running for state, legislative or congressional office, and their campaign managers. The academy takes place Friday and Saturday, Jan. 10-11, at the West Des Moines Marriott and features classwork in campaign finance and organization, getting media coverage, using social media, and one-on-one image and message coaching by nationally-known expert Chris Jahnke.
This is the second time 50-50 in 2020 has offered its Blueprint for Winning Academy. Results from the group's 2012 training program showed that 40 percent of academy graduates won office, compared to just 14 percent success by women who did not take part in the Blueprint for Winning Academy.
The goal of 50-50 in 2020 is to recruit and elect enough women so that by 2020 – the 100th anniversary of the year American women won the right to vote – Iowa will have elected females to fill half the Iowa Legislature, half of Iowa’s congressional delegation and the office of governor. Currently in the Iowa Legislature, only 23 percent of the seats are held by women, who make up 53 percent of Iowa voters. Iowa and Mississippi remain the only states to have never elected a women governor nor sent a woman to Congress.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Monday, December 09, 2013
Let's you and my campaign manager fight
So this is rich.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tyler Olson has suspended his role in the campaign.
So he can't attack the governor — or his primary opponents.
But while Olson is dealing with family matters (pending divorce), his campaign manager sends out attacks like this?
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tyler Olson has suspended his role in the campaign.
So he can't attack the governor — or his primary opponents.
But while Olson is dealing with family matters (pending divorce), his campaign manager sends out attacks like this?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, December 9, 2013
CONTACT: Alex Youn, alex@tylerolson.org
Governor Branstad's Mismanagement of the Toledo Juvenile Home Continues
CEDAR RAPIDS – Today, Rep. Tyler Olson's Campaign Manager, Alex Youn, released the following statement regarding the news of the Toledo Juvenile Home closing:
Governor Terry Branstad's mismanagement of the Toledo Juvenile Home continued today. Choosing to close the Toledo Juvenile Home is a poor decision made in secrecy. Governor Branstad's lack of oversight resulted in unsafe conditions and now further turmoil for the home's residents.
Ray Walton named interim director at Culver Policy Center
Simpson College has announced that Ray Walton has been named
interim director of the John C. Culver Public Policy Center, to be
effective at the end of this semester.
Walton will replace Mary Sheka, who will be leaving the college to become director of the Iowa Mentoring Partnership.
The Culver Center, a non-partisan organization, strives to inspire
students to public service and civic engagement, and to educate them
about policy issues facing the community, the state and the nation.
Walton is a member of the center’s advisory board. A graduate of Simpson and a native and resident of Indianola, he has experience in the U.S. military and private sector. He previously served as director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services and currently serves as executive director of the National Association of State Chief Administrators.
“We are most grateful to have the benefit of Ray Walton’s expertise at this time of transition,” for the Culver Center, former U.S. Sen. John Culver said. “His abilities, talent and commitment to the Center and to Simpson will be invaluable.”
The Culver Center will be busy in the spring of 2014.
Speakers will include former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyoming), Co-Chair of the Simpson-Bowles Commission (National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform), and David Axelrod, who was the senior advisor to President Obama and senior political advisor in the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.
In addition, Walton said, “In March we will honor the first recipient of the Inspiration to Service Award, given to an outstanding Iowan for inspiring young people to engage in public or civic service.”
Walton will replace Mary Sheka, who will be leaving the college to become director of the Iowa Mentoring Partnership.
Ray Walton |
Walton is a member of the center’s advisory board. A graduate of Simpson and a native and resident of Indianola, he has experience in the U.S. military and private sector. He previously served as director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services and currently serves as executive director of the National Association of State Chief Administrators.
“We are most grateful to have the benefit of Ray Walton’s expertise at this time of transition,” for the Culver Center, former U.S. Sen. John Culver said. “His abilities, talent and commitment to the Center and to Simpson will be invaluable.”
The Culver Center will be busy in the spring of 2014.
Speakers will include former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyoming), Co-Chair of the Simpson-Bowles Commission (National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform), and David Axelrod, who was the senior advisor to President Obama and senior political advisor in the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.
In addition, Walton said, “In March we will honor the first recipient of the Inspiration to Service Award, given to an outstanding Iowan for inspiring young people to engage in public or civic service.”
Funding the nation’s common defense
By U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley
Iowa Republican
Among the objectives named in the preamble of the Constitution, the Founders specified one of the primary responsibilities of governance for the newly formed republic is to provide for the nation’s common defense. For more than two centuries, the United States of America has protected its borders, people, international commerce and national security backed up by a civilian controlled military funded by the taxpaying public.
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley |
Our system of checks and balances works to keep the military under civilian control.
The Constitution specifies the president serves as commander in chief. The people’s branch appropriates and the executive branch spends money to provide for the Armed Services. This dual authority works to ensure the military serves, not subverts, we the people.
Since our nation’s founding, policymakers have debated the merits of the size, scope and strategy of the nation’s military. Between the White House and Congress, presidents and lawmakers have used the strength of the U.S. military to maintain peace, protect and defend the blessings of freedom and provide for national security.
Generations of Americans owe a debt of gratitude to those who have served in the Armed Forces, putting their lives on the line and often separating from their families to serve, defend and protect.
Although the U.S. military serves a critical role in upholding the nation’s common defense, lawmakers should not issue blank checks to the Department of Defense.
In fact, my longstanding crusade to protect the taxpaying public has exposed serious financial mismanagement at the Pentagon that undermines military readiness and exposes cultural, systemic flaws that weaken this critical institution of the federal government.
Protecting the taxpaying public and providing for the nation’s common defense are not mutually exclusive. Too many people in Washington think that throwing more money at something will solve the world’s problems. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As Congress works to dial back the spending spigot that has created a $17 trillion national debt, I am working to hold the line on overspending.
As keepers of the public purse, lawmakers need to demand more accountability for each tax dollar, including defense spending. Although no one thinks the across-the-board sequester was the smartest way to hold spending to the level Congress agreed to live under, I reject the notion that there are no parts of the federal budget that can be cut and the only solution is to ditch the spending caps that have forced Uncle Sam to borrow and spend less of taxpayers’ money.
For those who ballyhoo that the sky will fall if the Pentagon’s budget is trimmed further, I would direct their attention to the apparent shenanigans of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). What’s worse, the independent watchdog at the Pentagon may have schemed with DFAS and turned a blind eye to problems with the agency’s financial statements to snow policymakers and the public.
One of my earliest crusades against government waste started at the Pentagon. At that time, a Pentagon maverick reported serious fiscal mismanagement and an astonishing waste of tax dollars. Remember the $500 hammers and $7,600 coffee pots? It’s been a few years since I drove my orange Chevette to the Pentagon from Capitol Hill to track down answers about bloated defense budgets.
Thanks to the courage and pursuit of the truth from a civil servant at the Defense Department, we succeeded in exposing fantasy financials that front-loaded the budget with massive, unaffordable programs.
At the time, the Pentagon was flushing tax money down the drain with $700 toilet seats. His testimony at a joint congressional hearing helped lead to a freeze on the defense budget build-up at the height of the farm crisis in the mid-80s, sparing taxpayers billions of dollars. Ever since, I’ve championed all means necessary through oversight and legislation to hold the Pentagon accountable for the money it spends to uphold the nation’s common defense.
As Abe Lincoln discovered during the Civil War, there’s no shortage of profiteers who troll federal spending for financial gain. Or in the case of the DFAS, allegedly fudging the numbers to mislead policymakers and protect its funding stream.
It takes a tireless commitment to prevent the taxpaying public from getting fleeced. Sometimes it feels like paddling upstream, especially as the federal government has a record of using antiquated systems to track spending and prevent fraud.
Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse is hard enough even with proper auditing tools. So if integrity at the auditing shop in the Inspector General’s office is up for grabs, policymakers would have better luck finding a needle in an Iowa haystack than getting accurate numbers to make the right spending decisions. If this episode is a reflection of widespread “financial delusions” the DFAS conducts throughout the Pentagon, then Congress needs to tighten, not loosen, the purse strings until the Department of Defense can right its fiscal ship.
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