Pella —
To the editor,
I attended the Chronicle's candidate forum October 3 at the Pella Public Library. I was impressed by candidates' regard for the public purse but disappointed with some attitudes expressed towards government. I am even more disappointed (but not surprised) to think these attitudes to represent our fair city.
Ken Rozenboom, Republican candidate from our senate district, seeks to "keep government off our back" and fight "the nanny state" for the sake of a better business climate. He believes government keeps growing, in Chronicle writer Steve Woodhouse's words, "because shrinking government is not in a politician's interest." Could it be that the politicians he blames actually think there's more to th'e public good than lower taxes for business? Could lowans on balance agree?
In contrast, Rozenboom's Democratic opponent Timothy Tripp hopes to be "a voice for the voiceless." He brazenly confessed to once having "worked in an agency," as "a bureaucrat." Unrepentant, he admitted liking the public library we met in, and doubted that trusting individual landowners to build/maintain street segments on their own land as each personally saw fit would be the best transportation plan.
Rozenboom reminded us that government tends to be inefficient. Indeed it does. While individuals are free to pursue private interests, government is left to "form a more perfect union" by doing necessary stuff that private citizens find unprofitable or impracticable. It is because defense, administering justice, educating all comers, maintaining infrastructure, etc., are messy and step on toes that they are public business. I am grateful for those services.
Chad Ray
Pella
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
