This is why more women don’t run for office.
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I’m running against a four-term incumbent for the Iowa House of Representatives. The district is winnable and the political winds this year are blowing at my back. You see, I live in one of those suburban districts where some women are doubtful about Donald Trump and leaning Democratic down-ballot as well.
I started door knocking in my district in June because it’s the best and most targeted way to reach voters. Phone calls and emails are so easy to ignore. It’s harder to ignore someone who is knocking on your door and asking for your vote.
My lists at the ready, I set out on my mission to meet voters and talk about why I was running and to find out what was on their minds. In the process, I registered new voters, signed people up for absentee ballot requests, and started writing stories about the people I met.
My favorite story is about a little girl named Lily and her family. Lily has a brain injury and is getting the run-around about her care. You see, Iowa’s Republican Governnor and Legislature recently privatized the mangement of Iowa’s Medicaid program, despite the fact that is was one of the best managed programs in the entire country. Iowa’s now allowing three private companies a piece of the pie, skimming money of the top and denying care to people like Lily.
That’s not the only reason I chose to run. Iowa’s state government has also underfunded our public schools and caused us to drop dramatically in many rankings, including per-pupil spending and teacher salaries.
Our patchwork adult mental health system is underfunded and under attack by (once again!) the Governor and his Republican allies in the GOP-controlled House. Polk County (where I live) has the largest population and is owed about 8 million dollars in funding from the State of Iowa and is struggling to deal with the lack of resources that is putting lives at risk.
While I’ve been out talking about these issues to the voters in my district, my opponent has done nothing. He didn’t campaign all summer. He didn’t contact voters or put up signs.
We were only invited to one event where we would have appeared together. Despite touting himself as a supporter of education in general and preschool in particular, he did not show up to this Forum. The subject? Early childhood issues like daycare, autism and preschool. He said it was a scheduling conflict but there was nothing else going on that night.
I heard through the grapevine that he did a poll and basically sounded the alarm among his closest supporters. The poll’s results showed he was losing. He pulled out all the stops and dumped more than $185,000 into the campaign. An outside “dark money” group also got involved. That’s when the shenanighans started.
My opponent dug up an eleven year old blog post I wrote after getting a speeding ticket. To be clear, it wasn’t my finest moment and I’m not proud of what I wrote. I was using this old blog as kind of a journal and then a couple of years later I merged it into an obscure public blog that no one read. I forgot all about those old posts. Here’s my recent post explaining that I don’t hate cops.
He turned select quotes from my old posts into one of nastiest TV ads I have ever seen — including U.S. Senate races.
Then, the dark money group, called “Priorities for Iowa” stole two of my private photos and used them to send out ridiculous postcards blaming me for Obamacare and saying I am unfit for office.
Besides the obvious implications for my race (outcome unknown) — I find myself wondering what kind of a chill this gives on future candidates. What kind of candidate would suit up for something like this? I am tough and I can take this. But why isn’t this illegal? I forgot to mention — the other side included my personal cell phone number. Two more postcards also included that information.
With eight days to go, I am resolute. I am door knocking every day. I am talking to people. I want to serve. I hope I get the chance. I want to win, but I mostly don’t want him to win all based on 11th hour shady stuff.
Claire Celsi
claire.celsi@gmail.com
www.claire4iowa.com
