The state senator from Osceola flashed a big smile as she gave her first hug to Judy Davidson, chair of the county’s Republican Party. She then hugged Bill Fennelly, Scott County treasurer, and finished her introductory hugs with Carol Earnhardt, a candidate for the county board of supervisors.

Reynolds is campaigning as half of the GOP’s gubernatorial ticket headed by former Gov. Terry Branstad. She clearly impressed a crowd of about 100 gathered at Scott County Republican headquarters in Davenport.

The 50-year-old — often compared to former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — appeared enthused and happy to see so many people gathered months before the November election.

“I’m energized and encouraged,” she said in a loud, clear voice. “We’re seeing record numbers of people showing up at events like this.”

Reynolds, citing her 14 years as a county treasurer, said she considers herself a hard worker. “But I think I have met my match,” she said, referring to Branstad, the governor who served Iowans for four terms. “We need a true leader back in the office,” she added.

Read the full story here.

Meanwhile, the governor’s re-election campaign lashed out at a new web video posted by Republican opponent Terry Branstad that attacks the IJOBS program, saying it’s insensitive to flood victims.

The governor was touring flooded areas in eastern Iowa on Monday, including Maquoketa and Davenport, where he stopped at Modern Woodmen Park.

Davenport has built a sandbag wall at the ballpark to protect it, but it’s planning to erect a $2 million flood protection system that will avert that need in the future. The project, which will utilize a $1 million IJOBs grant, will be built around the front of the stadium.

‘We’re now dealing with a new normal,” Culver told officials and reporters gathered outside the stadium. “We are now dealing with constant flood-related issues. It wasn’t just 2008 where we saw these record flood levels.”

He said the new stadium flood wall is a model for other cities and counties.

“We need to do a lot more of it across the state,” he said.

Culver noted that IJOBS was expanded in the last legislative session, and he encouraged cities and counties to apply for money to deal with flooding issues.

“We need to continue moving forward on the IJOBS initiative,” Culver said. “That’s a three-year program.”

The governor’s comments came as the Branstad campaign released a new video lampooning the $830 million IJOBS bonding plan.

The video, which has no narrator, just country music, notes IJOBS costs the state $55 million a year and yet there are “no jobs” to point to.

Culver had initially claimed the program would create 30,000 jobs, but those claims have been questioned by some economists.

Read the full story here.

While talking to more than a dozen constituents, Branstad addressed the importance of bringing the government back to the condition it was at when he left office in 1999.

“I left the state with a $900 million surplus and a record number of people employed” said Branstad.  “Today we have the biggest unemployment we’ve had in 20 years and a budget with a projected billion dollar deficit.  I think I have the experience and the ability to get it back on track.”

Read the full story here.

Reynolds, Osceola, met with supporters at King Tower Cafe at the start of a week-long tour. She said her running mate, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, is “energized” and said he “is hard to keep up with on the campaign trail.”

Reynolds said they are concerned about “main streets shutting down” and declining populations in rural counties.

Read the full story here.

“Time magazine has a percentage estimated shortfall of the budget for the next fiscal year. The number for Iowa is 18.6 percent,” he said, quickly comparing it to percentages of 9.1, 8.5 and 15.5 in California, Massachusetts and New York, respectively before mentioning Illinois and Nevada have worse numbers.

“Today we want to know and identify the problem, propose some solutions and seek your input,” Branstad said, opening his “Truth in Budgeting Tour” stop with Auditor David Vaudt.

The veteran auditor compared expenditures and revenues for governors Robert Ray, Branstad, Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver.

“What you’ll notice very quickly in this chart is under the Branstad administration, revenues and spending stayed pretty much in tune with each other,” Vaudt said.

Branstad added the state “reduced our dependency on property tax” during his 16-year tenure as governor, referencing a school-aid formula change from 80 percent property tax revenue to 40 percent.

In 2007, Iowa spent $1.01 for every incoming dollar compared to $1.14 in 2010, according to Vaudt, who said the gap has been filled by using one-time funds to pay for ongoing expenses, such as half of the $1 billion Medicaid cost.

One-time funds include federal stimulus dollars, I-JOBS, rainy day fund, Rebuild Iowa’s Infrastructure Fund, Senior Living Trust Fund and other state funds.

Such practices have left Iowa with a projected $1 billion deficit, Vaudt claims.

Higher property taxes have also been a result, according to Branstad.

“We’ve pushed higher property taxes, which makes Iowa less competitive in attracting businesses and jobs,” he said. “Right now we have the highest unemployment we’ve had in 23 years at 6.8 percent.”

Indirectly responding to Culver’s claims of a bias, Vaudt said, “There is no such thing as Republican numbers or Democrat numbers; these are Iowa numbers.”

Branstad shared a condensed history of his time in office, the situations that followed his departure and how he plans to restore the state’s budget.

Highlights included the Fisher Commission, which created a 99 percent spending limit and other cost-cutting measures, in response to the farm crisis of the 1980s.

“In fact, I called back the legislation for two special sessions before we finally got all those things done,” he said. We took spending off autopilot.”

Those reforms allowed him to eliminate the inheritance tax for children and grandchildren, cut income tax by 4 percent and leave a $900 million surplus.

“Unfortunately, that surplus is now gone and part of the reason for that is the governor and legislators learned they could circumvent the spending limitation by putting not-withstanding language in the bills… I would strictly enforce the spending limits and I would veto any appropriation bill that exceeds the 99 percent spending limitation.”

In addition to that strong stance, he promoted the use of a biannual budget and five-year plan, which Vaudt would help pen.

Read the full story here.

Ed Wallace, president of the Iowa Taxpayers Association, said the Democrat-controlled Legislature and Gov. Chet Culver violated three key principles of sound budgeting.

One of those “violations” was that the legislative action that “drastically” shifted costs to counties and schools by underfunding state commitments to local property tax credits and K-12 education – a move that likely will push tough decisions on to local elected officials resulting in higher property taxes.

It’s the same conclusion we came to in March and April commentaries, despite a statement sent from Culver’s office that read, in part:

“We worked together to save taxpayer dollars, create jobs and protect our priorities. We’ve kept our promises and, most importantly, we have moved Iowa forward. And, as other states continue to debate how much taxes will increase, we balanced our budget – just as we have done every year since I took office – without raising taxes!”

Yes, that part of the statement actually came with an exclamation mark. Frankly, we could do without the political spin.

While state budgets during Culver’s term have not proposed direct taxes, they have given school districts the authority to use reserves or property taxes to recoup increases that will not be covered by state appropriations. That equates to probable increases in taxes for property owners.

Over a three-year period, $532 million of general fund spending has been shifted to Iowa property taxpayers, including nearly $200 million for the 2011 budget.

Read the full story here.

Statutorily speaking, the state’s second in command has few defined duties, other than standing ready to succeed the governor if needed.

But if elected, Kim Reynolds has no intention of limiting her activities to death and impeachment watch.

Reynolds, running mate of GOP gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad, outlined her vision for the state during a campaign stop in Fort Dodge Thursday – part of an 14-city tour that includes a stop in Pocahontas today.

As lieutenant governor, Reynolds said she would draw on her experience in county government – she served 14 years as Clarke County treasurer before being elected to the Iowa Senate in 2008 – to help the state run more efficiently.

According to Reynolds, numerous opportunities exist for state and local governments to cooperate, which could allow services to be provided more efficiently.

“Every time we duplicate and overlap, that’s a cost to the taxpayers,” she said.

During her tenure as Clarke County treasurer, Reynolds helped develop a website accessible to residents of all counties through which they can pay fees.

This allowed counties that may not be able to develop their own such services to provide them, Reynolds said – a prime example of cooperative government.

“We need to make sure there are no barriers in place,” she said.

Speaking to a crowd of about two dozen at Webster County GOP headquarters, Reynolds stressed the advantages of a Branstad administration.

In traveling throughout Iowa, Reynolds said she’s heard several common themes expressed among the electorate.

“People have had it with the spending, taxing and bonding that is going on with this administration,” she said, referring to Gov. Chet Culver.

Reynolds reaffirmed Branstad’s commitment to returning the state to a “pay-as-you-go” system.

Branstad, said Reynolds, understands what it takes to bring about economic development. Specifically, she said, appointed directors of state departments need to be the most qualified people possible.

“They can’t have a new scandal every week,” said Reynolds, taking a swipe at recent occurrences within Iowa Department of Economic Development, including fraud related to a film tax program.

“(Branstad) doesn’t pick from within the political cronyism inside thing,” Reynolds said.

True economic development, said Reynolds, will come about if the state gets its fiscal house in order.

Read the full story here.

Branstad’s comments in Fairfield were part of his ongoing campaign tour of Iowa focusing on fiscal responsibility. He is traveling with fellow Republican and State Auditor David Vaudt to discuss what they call the looming “revenue cliff,” and what the state needs to do to avoid severe economic pain.

The pair tag-teamed for much of the presentation in Fairfield, with Vaudt giving a more technical explanation followed by a simile from Branstad to drive home the point. Vaudt said the state has spent more than its revenues for years, funded in part by borrowing. The state’s bonds aren’t a stable source of revenue, he said, and that money runs out in 2012.

Vaudt’s projections show drastically lower revenue when that happens. That means either spending must be slashed or the state will face massive deficits.

“We turned to any other money we could find,” Vaudt said of the past several years.

“We’re breaking every piggy bank,” Branstad agreed.

Branstad compared the record of the Legislature and his rival Gov. Chet Culver to “paying your utility bill with your credit card.” The bill gets paid this month, but you get another one next month, plus the credit card bill with interest added.

The primary solution pressed by Branstad is strict adherence to the state’s spending limits. Iowa’s constitution caps spending at 99 percent of revenues, building in a cushion each year. Branstad charged his opponent and legislative leaders pass too many bills that authorize spending, constitutional limits “notwithstanding.” In essence, the language creates an instant loophole.

Read the full story here.

“To come back here has special meaning,” Branstad said. “I’m a graduate of Forest City High School. It’s great to be back.”

Branstad is a 1965 Forest City High School graduate. His class had a float in the parade, a few units up the street from where Branstad took his place in the parade.

Branstad was in town on the heels of some immigration comments he made during the week in Clarinda.

The Des Moines Register quoted Branstad as saying people stopped by law enforcement in Iowa should have to prove their citizenship status. The July 15 Register story also quoted incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver who said Branstad’s idea would put a drain on taxpayers because local law enforcement would pay to detain illegal immigrants in jail.

“If (illegals) commit a crime they should be detained and turned over to the federal government,” Branstad said Saturday. But it’s the federal government who should pay for the cost of detaining those illegal individuals, not local government, Branstad said.

Branstad said he pointed that out in Clarinda but that wasn’t the story.

Branstad also said in some criminal incidents the vehicle of an illegal can also be seized in forfeiture and those vehicles can be sold which makes revenue for local law enforcement.

Read the full story here.

More than 60 people — and none of them babies — listened to former governor Terry Branstad and state auditor David Vaught during their “Truth and Budgeting Tour” stop Wednesday in Keokuk. Both are running on the Republican ticket for governor and auditor respectively.

Armed with charts displaying the state’s financial picture, the two walked the crowd through what they believe is a disastrous financial situation Iowa could be facing soon. One of their charts refers to a $1 billion financial shortfall projected for next year as a cliff that Iowa is fast approaching.

The premise of the “Truth in Budgeting Tour” is that basic problems with the state’s finances are being caused by expenses exceeding revenue and one-time financial resources being used to support ongoing expenses.

Gesturing toward Vaught, Branstad referred to him as the “voice of fiscal responsibility.”

“They haven’t listened to him,” Branstad said. “That’s why Iowa is in the mess it is today.”

The state’s financial picture needs stability and predictability, something Branstad said he accomplished during his 16 years as governor.

Under his governorship, state revenue increased by 4 percent, the state increased school funding and the state took over its responsibility of paying for the court system – not shifting those duties to the counties as it stands now, he said.

While Branstad was governor he appointed a committee to reform state spending. A 99 percent spending limitation was made law so that when revenues exceeded expenses, only 99 percent of the revenues could be spent. The rest was placed in a cash reserve for emergency situations – a rainy day fund.

In that way, the controlled spending led to a 10 percent income tax cut and a $900 million surplus, he said.

Read the full story here.