Iowa Republicans are grabbing more power

Eight weeks into this year’s legislative session, we see one overarching theme emerging under the Golden Dome: there’s a power grab underway.

This process has been in progress for the past few years, but is now moving at warp speed. And it’s all focused on one goal: locking in long-term Republican control over Iowa. From my seat in the Senate, I count six fronts on which Republican are amassing and consolidating control:

Part One: Voting. Arguably, this started with the voting law “reforms” in the wake of the 2020 election — an election which saw record turnout in Iowa, and which went … Republican. They won, and there was no fraud to speak of. Then why did they pursue this? They did it to lock in those gains and make it harder for those who oppose them to vote in subsequent elections. For those who don’t work regular hours, young people, and some elderly, most of whom tend to vote Democratic and are less likely to be able to vote on Election Day, the changes made it more challenging to vote. The following year, they doubled down. And it’s working — ask those who tried to vote absentee and whose requests — or ballots — arrived too late.

Part Two: The Judiciary. Over the past four years, Republican legislation has shifted the balance on Iowa’s non-partisan, merit-based judicial nominating commissions, giving more power to the party in power. First, they focused on the nominating commission for the Supreme Court and Appeals Court. This year, the target is District Courts, which have more judges and require different expertise. In my floor speech opposing the change, I asked what needed to be fixed — what was broken? Nothing, except that the nominating commissions were headed by an experienced District Court judge and were nonpartisan. The new law — if it passes the House as well — will remove the judge from nominating commissions and hand the governor’s party a majority.

Part Three: The Attorney General’s Office. Remember when the governor said she wanted “her” AG? The attorney general is supposed to work for all Iowans — she is not the governor’s personal attorney. Now, legislation is in the works that would emphasize the AG’s authority over criminal cases, anywhere in the state, and regardless of whether the local prosecutor wants the AG involved. Another provision would give her sole authority over election-related issues. And, the AG is also requesting more than $900,000 in new funding to hire staff to pursue cases against President Joe Biden’s administration, whereas her predecessor managed just fine with the budget he had.

Part Four: Stifle local control. Home rule is enshrined in the Iowa Constitution, but you’d hardly recognize it now. Over the past six years, the legislature has taken an ax to it, preempting and stifling local control dozens of times. They are doing this for much the same reason as they put a tight rein on voting rights: Local government is where experimentation takes place — including ideas championed by progressive voters — and where people have a real voice. Rolling back local control also rolls back citizens’ voices.

Part Five: Public Education. We have witnessed multiple attempts to limit what teachers and professors are allowed to teach, and to vilify teachers and librarians. Republicans have sown distrust, spread lies and now, whether you call them vouchers or Education Savings Accounts, they’re shifting public moneys to mostly religious private schools, with next to no accountability. Those private institutions owe their financial windfall to Republican largesse (including taxpayer contributions from those in 41 counties where there is no private school).

Part Six: The Governor. This is the most audacious power grab of all, in the form of a massive 1,600-page government reorganization bill. While the stated aim of that bill — to consolidate, find efficiencies and save money — sounds good, that’s not what much of it does. It would put many more officials under the purview of the governor — serving “at the pleasure of the governor.” Agencies that currently benefit from independence and having experts at the helm — including the consumer advocate, community-based corrections, those who deal with workers' compensation, and more — will no longer be independent. Nor, if she has her way with the School for the Blind, will Iowans be assured of expertise. Serving at the pleasure of the governor means that if an appointee expresses an opinion that is not in line with the governor’s, they will be shown the door. Please tell your legislators to vote “no” on this consolidation bill.

This is not the only vision for Iowa. If you look at the forward-looking bills Democrats have filed, you see an entirely different vision — one that is inclusive, gives people who need it a hand up, values public education and teachers, increases Medicaid reimbursement rates, protects workers, and would again make Iowa a welcoming state. We can have that — but it will be made much, much harder by this power grab that is taking place in the blink of an eye.

Democratic state Sen. Janice Weiner represents District 45.