Culver grew through mistakes

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Gov. Chet Culver's first term in office ends Friday. He is the first sitting Iowa governor to be voted out of office in nearly 50 years.

But does that defeat signal the end of his political career? Don't bet on it.

Gov. Culver made mistakes that cost him too much politically. But he made them while dealing with the state's biggest natural disaster ever and fallout from the nation's worst recession in decades.

And politics is in his blood. He followed the footsteps of his father, John, who served Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives and later in the Senate. After college, Chet Culver returned to Iowa and worked for the state Democratic Party, then on Bonnie Campbell's campaign for attorney general, and later in the attorney general's office as a consumer/environmental advocate. He left politics to teach and coach for a few years, before deciding to run for Secretary of State. He won two terms and accolades.

Culver's problems as governor involved his administration's oversight deficiencies - the Iowa Film Office scandal being the biggest. He has some culpability in state budget overreaching. And we still believe he should have called an emergency legislative session soon after the flood of 2008.

Overall, many of his political troubles were rooted in not being a strong enough consensus builder, too often going it alone, especially early in his term - despite presiding over a Legislature controlled by Democrats in both houses, the first time in 40 years.

Nonetheless, his leadership as governor clearly improved over the second half of his term. He admitted some mistakes and learned. He dove into flood recovery and fought to bring much assistance to our community, including JumpStart and I-JOBS aid. His care for Cedar Rapids, where he has family ties and has spent considerable time, showed.

Distance from a defeat helps gain a clearer perspective on a leader's legacy. We certainly think it will be more positive than negative for this governor. His administration's achievements also included an increase in the minimum wage, a ban on smoking in most workplaces, leadership toward Iowa's emergence as a national wind energy leader and increasing teacher pay compared to the national average. He leaves office with Iowa in a relatively strong financial condition compared to most other states, including a first-ever AAA bonding rating, the highest level.

Thank you, Chet Culver, for your service to Iowans. We wish you well. And we expect to see you back in the public arena, not too far down the road - seasoned, wiser and prepared for battle.