Electing Branstad again would be a mistake

Former Gov. Terry Branstad is criticizing Gov. Chet Culver for his I-JOBS program that Branstad says “doesn't work.”

Yet we in Cedar Rapids have seen firsthand what many of those projects are doing to help us rebuild after the 2008 flood. Culver recently announced funding for 23 projects through the

I-JOBS disaster mitigation fund that will accomplish such things as the relocation of the Central Fire Station, building a new west side fire station and providing the flood protection components of a new riverfront amphitheater.

Across the state there are other projects funded by this program - emergency operations centers, fire stations, storm shelters, tornado safe rooms, storm water, sewer, water management programs, levees and dikes.

The 1993 flood happened during Branstad's tenure as governor. The Iowa National Guard's Brig. Gen. Harold Thompson prepared a Flood Disaster Report in May 1994. It recommended better flood plain and watershed management measures, including “adequate state assistance” to communities to mitigate future damage. Branstad and the Legislature did nothing.

We don't need to make the mistake of electing that kind of non-leadership again.

Carolyn Schmidt

Cedar Rapids