How have Reynolds and DeSantis treated their citizens?

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis join in mutual back-patting on their gubernatorial achievements. I guess if you count cultural war coups, they're right. But what about the real business of governing - like dealing with disasters? "You have to deal with disasters," Reynolds is quoted in a recent Wall Street Journal news story ("Iowa Governor Gets Good View of '24 Field," May 30).

So how's she done. We had a horrific environmental disaster in Marengo with the C6-Zero explosion. Did she visit the scene? Meet and comfort the victims? Deal with the local officials and firefighters who've had to struggle with this? Not that I'm aware of. Instead, after always bellyaching about federal intrusion into state matters, she seems to have silently consented to letting the feds take over, after the regulatory failures of her administration.

Turning to DeSantis, his campaign pushes the notion that he heroically dealt with the damage and destruction of Hurricane Ian. The latest news reports say otherwise ("Struggles continue in Florida 8 months after Ian," Associated Press, May 30). Hundreds remain homeless at Fort Meyers Beach: "...storm survivors housed in recreational vehicles, a converted school bus, and even a shipping container." Debris cleanup has slowed to a crawl and many areas will probably never be rebuilt.

So while these two governors are busily touting their credentials at trans-bashing, teacher-bashing, and woke-bashing, stop and actually look at how they treat their own citizens in times of real disaster.

Jim Walters

Iowa City