Kibbie served during ‘the most important session’

On a January morning 18 years ago, I hit the road to Emmetsburg to interview then-state Sen. Jack Kibbie.

Kibbie was a farmer and a Democrat representing a largely rural district. Democrats such as Kibbie used to win some of those districts. I swear, it’s true.

I’ve been thinking about that trip lately after news came on March 4 that Kibbie died at the age of 95. He was a public servant whose service made Iowa better.

When he spoke on the Senate floor, his gravely voice left no doubt who was speaking. I’ll always recall gambling debates, when Kibbie would inevitably say some variation of, “You want to gamble? Try raising cattle.”

He was a decorated tank commander in Korea. Eventually he left the army but kept the haircut.

Democrats had won the trifecta in the 2006 election. I was headed to his home on the shore of Five Island Lake to talk with him about the last time Democrats controlled the House, Senate and governor’s office after the 1964 election.

That’s the year Kibbie was first elected to the Legislature amid a Democratic landslide. Lyndon Johnson and Iowa Gov. Harold Hughes won big, and their coattails boosted Democrats in Iowa up and down the ballot.

The Gazette carried the news, which was stunning for a generally Republican state. “Demos Win Greatest Triumph in Iowa History, declared a front-page headline.

Hughes “won by the biggest margin ever given an Iowa gubernatorial candidate.” He defeated Attorney General Evan “Curly” Hultman by 377,774 votes. Hultman won only Lyon and Sioux counties. Hultman died last month at age 99.

Republicans’ Iowa House was washed away in a tidal wave. Democrats, who held just 29 Iowa House seats in 1963, captured 101 seats in the 124-seat chamber in 1964. Democrats also grabbed a 34-25 Senate majority. Court-ordered redistricting in 1964 also contributed to the Republican disaster.

Kibbie said the election caused some confusion, even among the winners.

"There were a lot of candidates who got elected in '64 that only signed an affidavit and got their name on the ballot. They never knocked on one door. They never raised one dollar," Kibbie said. "Hell, there was a couple who even thought they got elected to go to Washington."

Back then, lawmakers only convened in odd-numbered years. And the 1965 legislative session was among the most consequential ever, if not the most consequential.

There were legislative reforms. Previously secret committee meetings were opened. Lobbyists were barred from the House and Senate floors. The Senate could no longer go into closed session to discuss gubernatorial appointments.

They reorganized Iowa school districts, requiring each to have a high school. They created the Civil Rights Commission, approved a1-cent gasoline tax to improve roads and, sorry sleepy readers, Democrats approved the use of daylight saving time.

Democrats repealed the death penalty. Driver’s education was created, as was a requirement that all vehicles after 1966 have seat belts installed. Drag racing was banned and using headlights at night was required.

Constitutional amendments changing the way Iowa selects judges, creating four-year terms for governors and lowering the voting age were sent to Iowa voters.

"No Iowa Legislature in this century has had the courage to tackle such a broad range of important and difficult public interest problems as you have undertaken," Hughes said in a letter to lawmakers as they adjourned a 145-day session on June 4, 1965.

Kibbie led the charge on creating Iowa’s community college system. The system still is providing college-level courses, vocational training programs and more. The system has transformed the lives of countless Iowans.

As we drove around Emmetsburg in 2007, we couldn’t miss the John P. Kibbie building on the campus of Iowa Lakes Community College. Many articles written after his death called him the “father” of Iowa community colleges. That sounds about right.

"In my opinion, it was the most important session,” Kibbie told me.

All this from a man who started his education in a one-room school.

"This guy from northern rural Iowa was one of the leaders who helped bring the state of Iowa up to the 20th century," said Robert Fulton in 2007. Fulton presided over the Senate as lieutenant governor in 1966. We lost Fulton a year ago.

But for Iowans, 1965 was a lot of change. In 1966 voters handed control of the Iowa House back to Republicans. In 2007, Republicans wore “1966” buttons suggesting the 2007 trifecta wouldn’t last long.

Kibbie lost his bid for re-election in 1968.

"I told people then and I've told people since that it was the biggest favor I've ever had done for me,” Kibbie said in 2007.

He went back to the land his Irish ancestors provided and his growing young family. But after the death of his first wife, Alice, Kibbie returned to the Legislature in 1988.

But 1965 would always stand out for Kibbie,

"Those were interesting times," said Kibbie, sitting at his kitchen table. "This was our chance. We hadn't had a chance in a long time."

Kibbie accomplished more in one term than most lawmakers accomplish in long legislative careers. It stands in stark contrast to lawmakers at all levels who are too scared of losing their seats to do the right thing, or stop the wrong thing, even when it means taking a risk or bucking your party.

Those seats, particularly in Congress, must be pretty comfy. Representatives and senators will sell their souls to keep them.

But Kibbie, Hughes and other Democrats got a chance to do big things, and they didn’t check the polls or worry about their political futures. They used their majorities to, as Fulton said, bring Iowa into the 20th Century.

Current Republicans, although they seem to believe their majority will last 1,000 years, haven’t missed their chance to approve consequential change. Unfortunately, they’re using their chance to shove the state backward.

But 1965 was the most important session. Leaders with courage reshaped Iowa for the better.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com