The Des Moines / Henry County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, will once again hold its annual Burlington Labor Day Picnic at the 40 & 8 Park (located directly behind the Bee's Stadium or Community Field), 27l2Mt. Pleasant St., Burlington, Ia. on September 7, 2015 (4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.).

This year we will again have a jump house and other family activities to try and make the picnic fun for everyone and all ages.  The picnic is one of the council's longest standing traditions. This year will be the second year where the local unions will compete to see who has the largest turnout of members at the event which entitles them to hold the Milt Branchini award for the year. This is a fun competition geared towards getting everyone involved.

Due to the large crowds expected for Hillary Clinton, the event itself will be FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

However, anyone wanting to stay for the food and activities can purchase tickets are priced at $5.00 for a single, $10.00 for family, and $100.00 for a block of 10 tickets. Many of our locals purchase the block of tickets and distribute them to their members so they may attend. Additional tickets may be purchased at the picnic as well.

Hillary Clinton has long been a champion for working families. However, her appearance at the picnic should not construe an endorsement from the labor council. The authority for making Presidential Endorsement remains with the National AFL-CIO and International Unions.

To learn more, please contact Ryan Drew, 319-759-3188 or email rdrew@local150.org or Jon Garst 319-759-3814 

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BOSTON – Even though 52 percent of likely Iowa Democratic presidential caucus voters say that the persistent controversy over Hillary Clinton's email would hurt her in a November general election, they are backing her by a 34-point margin over her closest Democratic rival, according to a Suffolk University poll.

Clinton (54 percent) overwhelmed a field that included Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (20 percent), Vice President Joe Biden (11 percent), former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (4 percent), and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (1 percent), while other candidates, including former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, received less than 1 percent. Nine percent of likely Democrats were undecided.

"There is a fierce loyalty to Hillary Clinton among likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "Despite reports suggesting her vulnerability, these Democratic voters say they don't believe she broke the law. They are sticking by her in large numbers, even though a majority believes the email scandal will hurt her in the general election."

Potential Biden candidacy

The poll tested Joe Biden's potential entrance into the Democratic fray, even though he has not reached a decision and plans to make a formal announcement of his intentions in a few weeks.

"Biden's modest early support despite a favorability rating of more than 87 percent shows a lack of organization and funding, as he is not officially a candidate," said Paleologos.

If Biden opts out of the race, his Iowa Democratic supporters would split 39 percent to Clinton, 29 percent to Sanders, and 18 percent to O'Malley, according to the poll's subset of second-choices for the Democratic nomination.

Women keen on Clinton

Clinton's strongest support was with women, who put her ahead by 43 points, 58 percent to Sanders' 15 percent and Biden's 13 percent.

"Historically, Democratic caucuses and primaries turn out a disproportionate amount of women, and Clinton is making the gender advantage work to her advantage," said Paleologos.

State Department email issue

Fifty-two percent of Democratic voters said the email issue will hurt Clinton if she becomes the Democratic nominee, while 36 percent said it will not. Voters who prefer Clinton were split, with 44 percent saying the email question will hurt her and 44 percent saying it will not.

Asked if Clinton broke the law by using personal email while serving as Secretary of State, 9 percent said she did, while 76 percent said she did not, and 15 percent weren't sure.

On the issue of honesty and trust, however, Sanders (32 percent) edged Clinton (29 percent) and Biden (18 percent). When voters were asked "which candidate best understands the problems facing people like you," Clinton (39 percent) led Sanders (32 percent), and Biden (10 percent).

When non-Clinton voters were asked what is holding them back from supporting Clinton, 18 percent indicated that they "liked another candidate better." Other responses included:

"untrustworthy/dishonest" (9 percent)
"email controversy" (9 percent)
"has a lot of baggage/issues" (5 percent)
"views on issues" (4 percent)
"she's a Clinton" (3 percent)
"won't make it" (3 percent)
"Wall Street/corporate" (3 percent)
"need change" (2 percent)
"not progressive enough" (2 percent)
"bad publicity/news" (2 percent)

Minimum wage

The poll showed overwhelming support for raising the minimum wage in increments to $15 per hour by the year 2020, with 85 percent of Democrats in favor and 11 percent opposed. A majority of Democratic voters (54 percent to 34 percent) would support an increase to $17.50 per hour by the year 2020, but they rejected raising the minimum wage to $20 per hour (51 percent to 34 percent).

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 likely Iowa presidential caucus voters was conducted August 20-24 using live telephone interviews of Democratic primary voter households where respondents indicated they were very or somewhat likely to attend their local presidential caucuses. The margin of error is +/-4.4 percentage points at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center website: www.suffolk.edu/SUPRC. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleologos@suffolk.edu.

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Suffolk University, located in historic downtown Boston, with an international campus in Madrid, is a student-centered institution distinguished by excellence in education and scholarship. Suffolk University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 90 areas of study. Its mission is to empower graduates to be successful locally, regionally and globally

DAVENPORT - Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz is reminding those interested in voting in the upcoming school elections that the deadline to pre-register to vote is Friday, August 28, 2015.  Those interested can register at the Scott County Auditor's Office or at a driver's license station.  The Auditor's Office will be open until 5:00 p.m. on August 28th to accommodate voter registration.  Mail-in registrations post marked on or before August 26th, but received after August 28th, will also be accepted for pre-registration.  The school election will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.

After Friday, those interested in voting, but who are not pre-registered, may register to vote at the polls on Election Day or at the Auditor's Office and vote an absentee ballot prior to Election Day.  Those registering in this manner are required to provide proof of their identity through a photo identity card, such as a valid driver's license, and proof of their residency if the identity card does not list a current address.  Details for Election Day registration are available on the Auditor's webpage, http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/.

Polling hours will vary by school districts.  For the Davenport and North Scott School Districts polls will be open from12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.  Because there are no contested races or ballot measures voting hours were shortened in these two districts to reduce election costs.

For the Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley School Districts polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Voting will be at vote centers instead of at precinct voting locations.  Bettendorf School District voters may cast ballots at either St. John Vianney Church, 4097 18th Street, Bettendorf or Waterfront Convention Center, 2021 State Street, Bettendorf.

Pleasant Valley School District voters who reside in director districts three, four, five and six may cast ballots at the Pleasant Valley Schools Administration Building, 525 Belmont Road, Bettendorf.  Because there are contested races vote centers are used in this election to reduce election costs.

The Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICC) will have positions for director districts III, IV and V on the ballots in Scott County.  Voters who reside in the portions of the Pleasant Valley School Board Director Districts one and two which also fall within EICC District IV will vote at LeClaire Fire Station, 201 N 15th Street, LeClaire.  Voters who reside in the portion of the Pleasant Valley School Board Director District seven which also falls within EICC District IV will vote at Surrey Heights Fire Station, 5002 Crow Creek Road, Bettendorf.

There will be four positions up for election for the Bettendorf School Board, the Davenport School Board and the North Scott School Board.  The Pleasant Valley School Board will have positions for director districts three, four, five and six on the ballot.