Ray Stands Firm in Shaky Political Decade

10A The Cedar Rapids Gazette; Tues.. Dec. 2B. 1870 Ray stands firm in shaky political decade By Ken Sullivan of the governor's mansion are tied closely with the Goiette political writer political fortunes of two of their contemporaries. It is axiomatic of Iowa's weather: If you don't like In 1971, Dick Clark was administrative assistant to conditions the way they are today, stick around, they'll Culver, who then was serving in the U.S. House of change. Representatives. Clark had joined the congressional There are those, particularly among the ranks of staff years earlier, leaving a faculty post at Upper Iowa Iowa's Democrats, whose most fervent desire is to University, Fayette, to enter the political whirlwind. apply that maxim to the state's political climate. Speculation abounded early in the '70s that Culver Before the 1970s ended, The Democrats struggled mightily over the last 10 would leave the House and challenge Sen. Jack Miller, Iowa Gov. Robert Ray a Sioux City Republican, in his bid for re-election. years to wrest control of Iowa's Statehouse from the (right) had taken the oath hands of the Republicans. That would open the door for Clark to go after the Their success was limited. House job. The scenario was much different from the of office for a history- The bane of their political fortunes has, in large reality. making fifth time. Here, Culver didn't run for the Senate. That meant Clark measure, been Robert D. Ray. In fact, observed Don the oath is administered by Avenson of Oelwein, leader of the minority Democratic wouldn't run for the 2nd District seat. Party in the Iowa House of Representatives, Ray's former Iowa Chief Justice string of successes constitutes "one of the big political Walking campaign C. Edwin Moore. stories in Iowa" during the 1970s. He did the next best thing. Despite a decade of political upheaval that saw a He ran — or walked (literally) — for Miller's Senate Republican president resign amidst a national scandal seat. And won it. unprecedented in scope, and despite the fluctuating for- Clark employed a campaign tactic that since has been emulated countless times by political aspirants across the nation. In a quest for the ever-essential "name recognition" that a candidate must possess in seeking voter accept burglaries were disclosed in 1972 and continued to un tive process, a time limit of sorts has been imposed on ance, Clark searched for an alternative to the myriad fold for months. Iowa lawmakers. coffees and brunches, lunches and candidate-night ap "It follows that you would find a burden on Repub Each legislator receives an annual salary of $12,000, pearances that have been so much a tradition among lican candidates from the Watergate stigma," said Rep. plus a per diem expense allowance of $30. The per campaigners through the years. Roger Halvorson, R-Monona, majority leader in the diem, however, ends after the 120th day in the first His solution, inspired during a pre-campaign brain Iowa House of Representatives. year of a biennium and after the 100th day of the sec storming session, was a simple one: He would walk "Republicans lost the Legislature and it became in ond year. 9 THE DECADE across Iowa — from the Missouri River to the Missis creasingly harder for us to win it back. We had to out- As a result, lawmakers begin footing their own bills sippi — stopping to visit when the mood struck, greet at the point when the session should be winding down tunes of fellow Iowa Republicans, Bob Ray went to the organize the Democrats to regain the Legislature." ing passing motorists, getting acquainted with those The Watergate incident, which led to Richard Nix — or adjourned. Iowa voters four times during the 1970s to seek re-elec Iowans he needed to support him in November 1972. tion. on's resignation from the presidency, "did something to The climate for change also reached down to the It worked and Clark was elected. But a second term Republican candidates that Democratic candidates And four times, the voters were receptive, installing in the U.S. Senate was not to be. roots of the state's political process. him as the first four-term governor in Iowa history. He didn't have to contend with," Halvorson added. Roger Jepsen, who won't concede he may have "It hurt terribly," said John McDonald of Dallas Cen For decades, Republican and Democratic activists was elected in 1978 to a fifth term. pulled off an upset, unseated Clark in the 1978 election. would gather quietly on a February or March evening Ray's tenure has not been without its troublesome ter, who was chairman of the State Republican Central Jepsen came from a field of three Republicans looking Committee through the Watergate years. for their precinct caucuses. Participation was almost times, observed Art Neu of Carroll, who was lieutenant for their party's Senate nomination early in 1978. non-existent in some precincts, but the function was governor for six years during the '70s. "It hurt, but it was a tribute to the people of Iowa He was looked upon as a probable second-place fin and the way they distinguish things that even with the vital as Iowans began selecting delegates who would Vulnerability decreases isher; certainly not first. He fooled the forecasters then, losses during the Watergate years, they strongly sup carry grassroots desires to county, district, state and and he fooled them again that November by upsetting ported the governor and his programs." possibly even national political conventions. "In his first two years, he was far more vulnerable the Clark apple cart and continuing an Iowa tradition In its own way, said House Minority Leader Aven As these handfuls of involved citizens assembled in than he was after those first four years," said Neu. that has prevented any Democratic senator from win son, Watergate contributed significantly to "changing school classrooms, church basements or private homes, "And the problems he faced quite possibly made him ning re-election to a second term. Iowa from a one-party, Republican state, to a two-party, they not only began developing their party's platforms, the strong governor he is today. Jepsen was no stranger to Iowa politics prior to his competitive state." but took the first tentative steps toward determining "The tests were almost daily when the Legislature successful Senate campaign. He served earlier in the It was not just Watergate that spurred Democratic candidates' delegate-strength come convention time. was in session. He had very poor relations with the Leg decade as a member of the Iowa Senate and later as growth, Avenson suggested, pointing also to "better or Democrats were the first to switch. In 1972, precinct islature initially. There were problems and not just be lieutenant governor (with Ray), but faded into the back ganization in the early 1970s. That will have long-term caucuses were moved to January. It was a quiet transi cause the Legislature was controlled by the other ground for a couple of years before the Senate race. significance." tion, accomplished with relatively little fanfare in a party." Democrats scored a modest gain in the last general year when Richard Nixon was to win re-election over Court-ordered reapportionment of the Iowa Legisla Democratic challenger George McGovern. Republicans While a handful of names must be considered when election of the 1970s by breaking the total GOP ture, following the General Assembly's failure to ac tallying the political scorecard of the '70s, only a pair of strangle-hold on statehouse offices at the expense of complish the task on its own, mandated creation of Please turn to page 11 A: Politics Iowa's political leaders have demonstrated the capacity one of the state's most consistent winners. what Avenson views as "a fair legislative situation. to survive the voting booth year-after-year. In 1974, McGregor attorney Tom Miller won the "Democrats evened things out in voter registrations Ray is one. The other is John C. Culver. Democratic nomination for attorney general. His gen and went slightly ahead. We're competitive at almost As an elected representative of Iowa's citizenry, eral election opponent was Richard Turner, who had every level." Democrat Culver holds seniority over Ray. Ray, how entered the decade as attorney general and gave every Other manipulations in the political structure were ever, holds the edge in tenure in a single office. indication of wanting to remain in that capacity. less traumatic than Watergate. Ray was inaugurated for the first time Jan. 16, 1969, He succeeded in 1974. Miller lost that first skirmish, Historically, the Iowa Legislature led a biennial and sailed through the '70s on an unbroken chain of re only to crop up four years later. existence, meeting routinely the first year of each bien- election victories. The 1974 defeat apparently was a valuable one for nium. The Emergence of state government as a billion- Culver's political baptism occurred with his election Miller. His name was familiar to Iowans when he made dollar business rendered that system obsolete, lawmak to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 2nd the run again. It was the recognition gained in 1974 that ers decided in the late 1960s. District in 1964. He, too, won re-election in each subse helped him win the 1978 race, Miller believes. Thus, the age of biennial meetings officially ended quent election until 1974, at which time he opted to Beyond the politics of people, the mechanics of poli with the 1967 session of the General Assembly.

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