Reader 30th Anniversary Edition Cover Concept  Sketch Courtesy,  Ed Newmann

Reader 30th Anniversary Edition Cover Concept Sketch Courtesy, Ed Newmann

Publisher Note: The River Cities' Reader has emailed the publicly available emails for all party's candidates in the certain selected Iowa General Election 2022 races, a candidate questionnaire with four topics and eight questions.  That communication is published in part below, along with the complete questionnaire. 

The Reader will publish all responses in the printed October edition out on the streets October 6, 2022. All the printed responses will also be published online shortly thereafter. 

Sending an e-mail does not mean anyone engages and responds whatsoever. The Reader will be following up with each candidate and their campaigns by phone and repeated emails to ensure they have received this media request for responses. Readers are encouarged to contact the candidates and/or their campaigns to encourage participation as well as share this web page on one's social media networks. Find your candidate contact info at this page here

Iowa Quad Cities' General Election 2022 Canidacies Queried: 

  • Governor 
  • Secretary of State 
  • Auditor of State 
  • Treasurer of State 
  • State Rep District 81 (Davenport) 
  • State Rep District 93 (Bettendorf to LeClaire) 
  • State Rep District 94 (Davenport to Bettendorf) 
  • State Rep District 97 (Davenport) 
  • State Senate District 35 (LeClaire to Dewitt) 
  • State Senate District 47 (Bettendorf) 
  • Scott County Attorney
  • Scott County Auditor 
  • Scott County Board of Supervisors 
  • Scott County Recorder 
  • Scott County Treasurer 

Greetings 2022 General Election Candidate,

With the Midterm General Election 2022 questionnaire found below, we continue our long standing practice of contacting political office candidates with what we hope are relevant and meaningful questions. 

It is also our intent that with your participation, we provide our readership, and your electorate with compelling and engaging responses that substantively inform their critical voting choices.

Please review the questions below, and respond to the best of your ability by replying to this email or to me at todd@rcreader.com, on or before Monday October 3, 2022 by 12pm CST. 

All answers received on deadline will be published (unedited) in print in our October edition, out on the streets Thursday October 6, 2022, and at our website linked above. 
There are three topics, and seven questions for all candidates.

There are additional questions for specific office seekers below these general questions. 
Not every question needs to be answered in order to participate.  
We will publish partially completed questionnaires. 


Please feel free to call me directly anytime with any questions. 
Thank you for your willingness to serve the people of Iowa.

All the best,
Todd McGreevy 
Publisher

 

1. Emergency Declarations & COVID19 Lessons Learned 

1.1. QUESTION: Do you agree that the state governor has the authority to implement policies that ignore or violate individual protected rights enumerated in the US and state constitutions when he or she declares a statewide emergency? If yes, please cite the specific published law or statute(s) where such an authority to ignore or violate rights is provided.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the public health response included lockdowns, school closings, forced masking, forced vaccinations, and selective closing of “non-essential” gathering places, businesses and places of worship. Some jurisdictions implemented vaccination passports. Many officials claimed to be merely following "the science" or CDC guidelines. 

1.2 QUESTION: Looking back, what lessons did you learn during the pandemic that will inform how you would conduct the office and serve your constituents should another pandemic be declared in the future?

 

2. Oaths of Office & Protecting Rights 

Should you prevail in the pending November 8th general election, you will be required to take an oath of office in order to occupy the office you ran for and serve the people within your office's jurisdiction, accordingly. Despite all the campaign promises and rhetoric generated prior to the election results, each oath of office taken is the closest thing to a contract with the people you will be representing, or your constituents, that we the people have.

Said Illinois oath reads: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of ___________ according to the best of my ability."

Said Iowa oath reads: "I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Iowa, and that I will faithfully and impartially, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties of the office in ______________, as now or hereafter required by law."

2.1 QUESTION: Of all the rights enumerated and identified as protected and inherent rights in the US and Iowa or Illinois state constitutions if elected you will be supporting, which of your constituents' rights are most readily protected by the office you are running for, its department and staff?

2.2 QUESTION: Of all the people's rights protected in the US and Iowa or Illinois state constitutions, are there any of your constituents' rights which are especially currently at risk? If so, which rights and what specific actions will you take to protect that right for your constituents?


3. Serving Constituents

3.1 QUESTION: What will you do to make your elected office activities and its records even more transparent and accessible to the public? 

3.2 QUESTION: What constituent problems, requests or issues do you expect during your potential term in office, and how will you address them? 

3.3 QUESTION: In 250 words or less, please summarize why one should cast their vote for you.

 

For State Auditor, Secretary of State, State Legislator, and County Auditor Candidates 

The NGO Center for Technical and Civic Life (located in Chicago, Illinois) distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to auditors and clerks throughout dozens of counties in the 2020 general election. CTCL's funding came from the foundation operated and funded by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

QUESTION: Do you support such private funding of public elections? Why, or why not?

 

For State Treasurer, State Legislator and Governor Candidates 

Some state treasurers, legislators and governors are beginning to withdraw lucrative management contracts for their state pensions and financial services, from banks and financial institutions (equity funds) that engage in conflict(s) of interest due to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) scoring. The leading example is in West Virginia where six of the nation's largest fund managers were notified by the treasurer that their contracts were being canceled due to the pensions of West Virginian state employees being partially invested in new Chinese coal-fired power plants. Meanwhile, these same fund managers declared oil, gas and coal investments in West Virginia off-limits in order to selectively apply ESG sustainability standards to that state. In Iowa and Illinois this would be the equivalent to these large banks and equity funds no longer providing capital or lending to the private agribusiness industry, claiming modern farming runs afoul of ESG standards. And then using the public state pension funds to invest in farming in China.

QUESTION: As Governor, State Treasurer, or State Legislator, what is your position relative to the state transacting with banks and institutions (equity finds/money managers) that: a) use ESG scoring; and b) have similar conflicts in their ESG-related business investing models?

For County Attorney Candidates 

CA1 QUESTION: Please explain your understanding of how asset forfeiture is governed within the County Attorney's purview, and how you will utilize this mechanism in pursuit of equal justice under the law.

CA2 QUESTION: What percentage of the county attorney's annual operations is typically funded by civil and criminal asset forfeiture respectively, and have there been any significant trends in said funding that will impact the County Attorney's fulfillment of duties?

CA3 QUESTION: If elected, will you publicize at the County website periodic updates of assets seized and under what circumstances?

CA4 QUESTION: How does the seizing of assets without a conviction serve justice? 

Support the River Cities' Reader

Get 12 Reader issues mailed monthly for $48/year.

Old School Subscription for Your Support

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Old School Subscribe now.



Help Keep the Reader Alive and Free Since '93!

 

"We're the River Cities' Reader, and we've kept the Quad Cities' only independently owned newspaper alive and free since 1993.

So please help the Reader keep going with your one-time, monthly, or annual support. With your financial support the Reader can continue providing uncensored, non-scripted, and independent journalism alongside the Quad Cities' area's most comprehensive cultural coverage." - Todd McGreevy, Publisher