Horse's Head Dumped In Councilwoman's Pool

Horse's Head Dumped In Councilwoman's Pool

We've all heard political Godfather references, but this is taking it a bit far:

New York authorities are investigating the discovery a severed horse's head in a councilwoman's swimming pool.

Police in Wawayanda, N.Y., said the head was found Tuesday and is being treated as a threat against Councilwoman Gail Soro. A spokesman said she's been harassed before.

One of the most famous scenes in "The Godfather" showed a movie mogul waking up with a horse head in his bed after he refused to bow to the will of the title character, played by Marlon Brando.

The story fails to note whether or not Johnny Fontane got the part.

Sal for President!

Sal for President!

The new definition of undaunted. Or, as Ron at Politics1 euphemizes, "frequent candidate":

While Sal Mohamed of Sioux City placed an advertisement in the Journal Thursday inviting the public to his press conference to announce his run for President of the United States, he knows his candidacy could be halted, but is hoping it won't be.

As an Egypt-born man who became a U.S. citizen in 1983, Mohamed could be tripped up by the Constitution...

He finished third of three candidates in 2004 in the Democratic Party Iowa 5th District congressional primary, and last month finished fourth of four Democrats wanting the party's governor nominee title, which went to Chet Culver.

Discussing Mohamed's presidential aspirations, Woodbury County Democratic Party chairwoman Teresa Wolff said, "I think that Sal needs to take a look at his strategies in how he wants to get involved in politics."

Hat tip to Krusty.

Pate’s Shameful Record in Public Office

Pate’s Shameful Record in Public Office

I don't usually run verbatim press releases but the defense of Paul Pate in the comments has been vehement. So, via the IDP:

Pate Embellished His Educational Background in the Iowa Official Register. Pate claimed that he gradated from the Wharton School of Business when, in fact, he only attended a two-week program.

Pate Attempted to Copyright State Slogans Before Leaving Office. The Attorney General's office issued a ruling stating the state, not Pate personally, had the legal rights to marketing slogans.

Pate Said He Would Abolish the Secretary of State’s Office. Pate made a campaign promise to abolish the Secretary of State’s office or make major revisions to the position. He did neither one, and now, is considering running for the position again.

And since the question of residency has been raised: I checked the Red Book from 1993-94, Pate's last years in the Senate, and it lists a Marion (not Cedar Rapids) address. The House district he held was essentially the city of Marion; the Senate district was about half and half with Cedar Rapids.

Star Power: Lance vs. Kerry

Star Power: Lance vs. Kerry

Cyclist: banner headline.

About 600 people attended today’s Senate Field Hearing to hear seven-time Tour de France champ and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong talk about his fight with cancer.

2004 Democratic nominee: third paragraph.

The hearing, led by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and featuring Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, was organized to promote the advancement of cancer research in light of President Bush’s nearly $40 million dollar cut for the National Cancer Institute for fiscal year 2007.

Paul Pate on the comeback trail?

Paul Pate on the comeback trail?

Former Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate is giving consideration to becoming the Republican Party of Iowa's candidate for Secretary of State, Republican activists told The Gazette.

Pate, who served in that office for eight years, would replace Chuck Allison, who dropped out of the race earlier this week, citing personal reasons...

Pate never misses an opportunity. He may be Iowa's champion job hopper: state rep and state senator from a Marion district, then in mid-senate term he jumps to Secretary of State forcing two special elections.

Sidebar: Here's the sequence from late `94 and early `95 in Linn County:

November 1994: General election, Pate elected Sec of State, resigns Senate seat.

December 1994: Representative Mary Lundby elected to Senate seat in special election. In February 1994, there was a senate vacancy in Johnson and Linn counties and then-Rep. Bob Dvorsky resigned the house seat so the two special elections could be combined. (We had a naaaaasty blizzard that day.) Bund Lundby refused to make that move, forcing yet another special election which was held in January `95.

Also in this time frame: Linn County has a special election for sheriff, AND the Marion and Linn-Mar school districts, which partially overlapped the legislative districts, had a (failed) merger vote.

So there were voters in parts of Marion that were in the Marion or Linn-Mar districts who went to the polls five times in nine weeks.

Four years later Pate loses the primary for governor, then he carpetbags into Cedar Rapids and gets elected mayor. Then the voters in effect abolish the job out from under him by making it part-time (coincidence?)

The foot doctor walks away

The foot doctor walks away


The Republican candidate for Iowa secretary of state is ending his campaign, a top party official said Wednesday.

Chuck Allison, a Des Moines podiatrist who won the Republican nomination in June, is expected to make an official announcement as early as today, throwing the race into disarray...

Sounds like the real issue is he's being sued by a former business partner.

The GOP now has about three weeks to get it together and get a new candidate, which I think - need to check the code - would require a new state convention.

Krusty beats me to the story and immediately gets behind primary loser Bob Dopf. (How did Allison win the primary in the first place?) Based on Dopf's stands in the primary, it doesn't change the eseential dynamic, the essential issue of the race: Mike Mauro wants to help people vote, the GOP wants to keep people from voting.

Clinton at JJ

Clinton at JJ

Bill, that is. Who wins? Kyle opines:

Make no mistake, getting Bill Clinton to come to this event is huge for the party. But it's also huge for Vilsack, because it means that Edwards, (Hillary) Clinton, Kerry, Gore, Feingold, Bayh, Biden, Warner, Gravel and any of the others I may have left out will not be on hand to overshadow our own federal office-seeker. And my guess is that was the goal all along.

Bill's star power relegates John Kerry's weekend visit to a sidebar - but anything Kerry does this weekend is getting blacked out by Lance Armstrong and RAGBRAI anyway. Kerry is feeling way too desperate these days.