The informal gathering at Southern Hills Winery in Osceola, in the Lt. Governor’s old state senate district, was one of the last of her stops on last week’s “Choosing a Better Iowa” tour.
Between Governor Culver, First Lady Mari Culver, and Lt. Governor Judge, forty one counties were visited in five days. The three of them talked about the accomplishments of the previous four years and the plans for the next four.
Coming from the East Coast, it’s very refreshing to me to see politicians who are still very connected to their home area, especially as they move up in their careers. Patty Judge has not forgotten about the people who first sent her to Des Moines as a state senator. She immediately asked an attendee about the wedding of a family member and she had a cake for Lester Poole, who was at the event in Albia. Happy Birthday was led very well by Mr. Poole’s grandson.
The events were small but the discussions were thorough. Patty always allowed time for questions and answers and gave the people attending the same straight talk she’s been giving them since 1992.
- She had a quick response for the Republican idea of cutting pre-school to fund corporate tax cuts: “I’d get mad if it wasn’t so silly!”
- Calling out the Republican for their misleading attacks on the budget, Lt. Governor Judge said, “There has not been one day where there hasn’t been money in the bank. There has not been one day where we haven’t used black ink”
- On flood recovery: “When you’re faced with adversity to you have to set a direction and set a course… We’re Iowans. We’ve always helped eachother. We’ve always been there for each other.”
She talked straight about being the underdog in the upcoming election. It’s not going to be an easy race, she said, “you gotta be the messengers. I can’t be here everyday. You need to talk to your neighbors.”
To see all the photos from the two events, visit our Flickr page.