‘Proud Democrat’ Dandekar rejects criticism of Senate resignation

Swati Dandekar didn't leave the Democratic Party when she left the Iowa Senate and she rejects the suggestion she jeopardized Senate Democrats' 26-24 majority.

However, criticism of Dandekar's resignation from the state Senate in 2011 to accept an appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board from Republican Gov. Terry Branstad remains a sore spot for many Democrats.

She rejects the premise of the criticism.

“I never left the party,” Dandekar pushed back last week after announcing her entry into the race for the Democratic nomination in Iowa's U.S. House 1

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District. “The control of the Senate was never in doubt with Liz Mathis as the candidate.”

Mathis won a special election to succeed Dandekar and maintain the Democratic majority. And Dandekar made a $40,000 contribution to the Democratic Party to help others running for office.

That hasn't quieted critics. When Dandekar began talking about running to succeed Waterloo Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being given up by Sen. Tom Harkin, detractors suggested she run as a Republican.

“Thanks for clarifying Dandekar's party affiliation, though I still have my doubts. Maybe her chances better in GOP primary?” Iowa City blogger @johndeeth posted on Twitter after Dandekar entered the five-way Democratic primary. “Sharp sticks in eyes better than Dandekar.”

And her resignation from the IUB in anticipation of her congressional campaign provided fodder for more disparagement.

Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan, no fan of Dandekar, tweeted: “So Dandekar now quits the Utilities Board job that was so good she had to quit the Iowa Senate? Swati -- please -- just go away!”

The criticism is misguided and likely coming from Democrats who favor one of Dandekar's opponents -- attorney Dave O'Brien and councilwoman and business owner Monica Vernon, both of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Reps. Pat Murphy of Dubuque and Anesa Kajtazovic of Waterloo, according to former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who is advising Dandekar.

There's a long history of Democrats who have left office to take other positions “including me, Tom Vilsack and Leonard Boswell,” Judge said. The three of them left the Senate to run for Iowa secretary of agriculture, governor and the U.S. House, respectively.

“I don't think it's a terrible black mark on her or me or Tom,” she said. “It won't be the defining issue.”

What's more, Judge said the “people who really count, people from the district, people she will represent and has represented, they know her and know she has the interest of the district at heart and will work hard for them.”

It may be hyper-partisan Democrats rather than rank-and-file party members attacking Dandekar and her voting record during nine years in the Iowa House and Senate, but they matter, said Chris Larimer who teaches political science at the University of Northern Iowa.

“They are the ones who show up at primary,” Larimer said. “The activists, the folks who are paying attention, are the ones who come out for a primary.”

If Dandekar can survive the primary, he added, the problem will go away.

Dandekar believes voters care more about her positions on bread-and-butter issues like education, jobs and the economy, and health care than the timing of her move from the Senate to the IUB.

In fact, she hopes to turn her record into a positive.

“People like me because I'm independent,” she said. “That's what they talk about -- that I have independent streak.

“When I meet with people, that's what they talk about,” Dandekar said. “They don't talk about anything else. They want to know about my plans.”

Voters are interested in the future, “in today's issues, not issues from two or three years ago,” Judge said. “Some people who will try to make it an issue, but it's not the defining issue.”

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