January 22, 2021 | Letter No. 26
Back in December, Democrat Rita Hart filed her petition to Congress, asking for the House Committee on Administration to investigate the election she lost in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Her petition included 22 ballots not factored into final totals; 22 ballots that would change the results of the election if considered.
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks responded to the petition. Her lawyer said that the House should throw it out because Hart did not exhaust her options on the state level. Hart neglected to pursue consideration by a state contest court before petitioning the House.
“The precedents of the House, going back a century or more, require contestants to avail themselves of every single remedy they have under state law before they go to Congress,” said Alan Ostergren, an attorney representing Miller-Meeks.
It is much more common for the committee to dismiss these petitions than to investigate them. But with just six votes separating the candidates, we’re in rare territory.
Hart has petitioned. Miller-Meeks has responded. In the coming days, the committee will have a big decision to make.
In case you were curious who was making this decision:
Chairperson Zoe Lofgren, CA-19 (Democrat)
Vice Chair Jamie Raskin, MD-08 (D)
Ranking Member Rodney Davis, IL-13 (Republican)
Rep. Susan A. Davis, CA-53 (D)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, NC-01 (D)
Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, OH-11 (D)
Rep. Pete Aguilar, CA-31 (D)
Rep. Mark Walker, NC-06 (R)
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, GA-11 (R)
Your friendly neighborhood reporter,
Zachary Oren Smith
Take Five
🧤 I don’t know what reporting on memes would look like. But it’s the kind of work I want. And the more local the better. This story on a crossed Bernie hitting Des Moines. My favorite local example (What can I say, Iowa City just does it better y’all.):
🤡 “Shoot our way out” - Republican Zach Whiting, R-Spirit Lake, claimed he and colleagues felt an imminent danger during the Iowa Capitol during the summer’s protests. As it turns out, colleagues didn’t share his fears, and Thursday, he said that there was no danager.
📚 War and Peace in pieces - If you live in Iowa City, you likely own a copy of War and Peace. It is probably cracked through to the first 100 or so pages and abandoned. Well now is your chance to pick it back up (careful not to throw out your back). A UI professor has organized a daily reading group.
🎓 Many takers to replace Bruce - The Iowa Board of Regents is trying to find a successor for UI President Bruce Harreld. The position was posted by contractor AGB Search on January 13. According to its managing principal, the response has been enthusiastic and “high-quality.”
🏗️ Tailwind Development TIF - If you haven’t read about it yet, you should. The Tailwind Group finally got the green light on their tax increment financing package. The city is kicking in $12 million over 15 years for a $56 million development that will renovate some older buildings in the ped mall and build an 11 story multi-residential unit behind them.
Subscribers make this possible
If you are finding value in this work, I hope you will consider subscribing to it too.
Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com, at 319 -339-7354 or on Twitter via @Zacharyos.