Branstad defends administration, length of service

CEDAR RAPIDS - Gov. Terry Branstad defended his hand-picked director of the state's largest agency as well as the length of time he's been in office during a visit Monday to Cedar Rapids.

Branstad, a Republican seeking a sixth term, responded testily when asked about allegations Iowa and the Department of Human Services has failed to provide for juvenile female offenders in the wake of the closing of the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo.

The closing and the DHS 'refusal to examine its own practices is fast becoming a hallmark of the Branstad administration,” a Des Moines Register editorial said.

Branstad called the criticism of DHS Director Chuck Palmer 'a very biased and unfair attack on one of the most dedicated public servants we have in the state of Iowa.”

'I am proud of Chuck Palmer. I support him,” Branstad told the Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary Club, which last week hosted his challenger, state Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines.

He called Palmer 'one of the most dedicated, caring people you could possibly have.”

Palmer served in the same position when Branstad was governor in the 1990s and worked for non-profit human services agencies during the 12 years between Branstad's fourth and fifth terms.

'To make those kinds of accusations against an honorable public servant like Chuck Palmer is totally unfair and unfortunate,” Branstad said.

The governor also rejected the idea that he has been in office too long.

'The question is, is it time for a fresh start?” Branstad said. 'I would say the state of Iowa was in a mess in 2010. It was time to get the state back on track, to get the state's financial house in order and put the focus on economic development and jobs. I think we've got the state on the right track.”

He referred to a Des Moines Register poll that showed most Iowans believe that unlike the nation, the state is on the right track. And he's just getting started.