The Chris Moeller Archives

Chris Moeller for Statehouse

I've decided that it's time to put my money where my mouth is in regards to progressive action. Over the past month, I've been collecting signatures in an effort to land a spot on the general election ballot of November 4th. I met the filing deadline a week ago by submitting the required 50+ signatures and an affidavit of candidacy to the Secretary of State's office in Des Moines. I will be a Green Party candidate for Iowa State Representative in House District 66.

I'm running because I'm dissatisfied with the quality of progressive leadership in the state of Iowa. The Democratic Party controls the governor's office, and both chambers of the legislature, yet

-- our health care coverage is becoming less accessible and less affordable

-- inner-city schools in Des Moines are being shuttered

-- the cost of tuition at our universities is going through the roof while state aid withers

-- the governor continues to weakly surrender the brave men and women of our increasingly-vital National Guard to fight in a war for oil profits half a world away

-- Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of African-Americans behind bars, more than 8,900 of the 70,000 blacks who live in the state(!), 13 times the incarceration rate of whites

-- labor's right to organize continues to be severely restricted

-- Iowa's rivers are now among the most polluted in the country as our legislature sees fit to protect polluters with legal immunity from nuisance lawsuits

-- state leaders throw millions of our tax dollars at out-of-state corporations under the fraudulent advertisement of "economic growth," in fact jeopardizing the quality of life that comes only with sustainable urban development and agriculture.


There's a simple explanation as to why all of the above is true, and that's because the Democrats at the Capitol are in hock up to their eyebrows to the lobbyists and special interests that put them in office. This includes my incumbent opponent, who accepts PAC money from all over the country despite the advantage of representing an overwhelmingly-single-party-controlled district.

The Democratic Party has become a graveyard for progressive ideas. When an upstart, true progressive candidacy, such as the recent Fallon for Congress, rises up from within, the monied interests in the state, and from beyond our borders, act swiftly to swat it down; and as the state's principle opposition party, the Republicans' strategy on governance has been little more than to simply grab as much as they can for themselves as fast as they can. That's why I'm running from without. That's why I'm running as a Green.

There is no Republican candidate on the ballot in the District so "the Fighting 66th" has a unique opportunity to put a truly independent progressive in the legislature to advocate for their quality of life and for that of the entire state. Living in Sherman Hill, I've been a proud resident of the 66th District for more than 10 years. It's the only place that I've lived during my adult life, first as an apartment renter, now as a homeowner. I feel as though I understand your trials and concerns.

There are many things the Iowa General Assembly can accomplish if it has true progressives there to lead it...

If the federal government won't provide health care as a human right to all of its citizens, we can make sure that all Iowans in need are covered through an expansion of the Hawk-I insurance program that currently covers only children. Living without health insurance in the insurance capital of the world should be a laughable concept.

We need progressive tax formulas that pay for lower university tuition, not higher, and ultimately, we need tuition-free post-secondary public education for Iowa residents.

I vow to fight also for a full $10/hour minimum wage that makes the minimum wage a more "livable wage," and no more tax incentives and payoffs to out-of-state corporations that flood over our borders, endangering so many of our small businesses, and operate without regard to the health of our local communities.

We need legislation that challenges "the legalization of theft" in Iowa under the disingenuous heading of eminent domain. The unchecked government power to transfer property from one private owner to another, devastating already impoverished communities, is just another issue in which Democratic leaders have shamefully failed us by giving themselves over, heart-and-soul, to their corporate paymasters.

I promise to fight for not simply civil unions, but for full marriage rights in Iowa for gays, lesbians, transgender, and intersex individuals. Again, this is an area where the state of Iowa has the capacity to act to fill the insulting void created by the federal government.

I'm committed to ending Iowa's designation, once and for all, as a so-called "right to work" state. There should be no more union organizing restrictions, no more crooked backroom dealing at the statehouse, and no more free ride for non-union laborers riding the train of progress engineered by collective bargaining. In the statehouse, we can make sure that an Iowa company's workers have the first right to buy a business put up for sale, going bankrupt, or being outsourced. A union man or woman spilled his or her blood for every right you enjoy at your workplace, and it's our patriotic duty to constantly recall their collective and individual sacrifices.

We need creative public transportation, a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in the state, and restoration of abandoned lands. District 66 residents are particularly benefited by what's called urban in-fill development, which allows a community to grow without the unsustainable sprawl of modern development. Individual decisions in cities and neighborhoods should be locally-controlled, but state government can provide our communities with many of the resources they need for healthy, long-term growth.

Finally, I vow I will never, ever take money from lobbyists or PACs. This widespread practice of buying off our political representatives is the overriding obstacle to all other progressive action and reform across this nation. The decision to accept these pointed bribes is also the biggest difference between my opponent and me.

I'm privileged to run "down-ticket" from the Green Party's Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente, two extraordinary national leaders and vibrant Women of Color. I'm greatly in your debt for any feedback and any support that can be provided for this grassroots, citizen-centered campaign.

More information coming soon at http://www.polkcogreens.org/


Chris Moeller
700 15th St #6
Des Moines, IA 50314
515-249-3457 (cell)

posted by CM @ 11:49 AM