Story County caucuses signal the start of yet another political season

Teresa Kay Albertson, Ames Tribune
·3 min read

Story County Republican caucuses had a bit more excitement than usual Monday night as caucus captains waited for the updated voter lists and updated maps of the precincts.

"Due to the late redistricting, which was caused by the late 2020 census, we didn't get the updated voter lists and precinct maps in our hands until about an hour before the caucus started," Story County Republican Chair Brett Barker said Tuesday. "But we had everything in time and it all ran smoothly."

Barker said he and the county's central committee have until the county Republican convention March 12 to gather information from the caucuses. For now, that information is sitting in boxes.

Republican Caucus goers talk to each other in their precinct meeting during the party caucus at Oakwood Road City Church Monday night.
Republican Caucus goers talk to each other in their precinct meeting during the party caucus at Oakwood Road City Church Monday night.

The caucuses are the grassroots first step of the state's political process where people state their positions on issues, called planks. Those planks are then gathered into a single large document called a platform.

The platforms of national politics start at the grassroots level, like the Iowa caucuses.

The caucuses also elect delegates to the county, district and state conventions where the platforms will be finalized.

Caucuses are held every two years, Barker said. When the caucuses are held on a non-presidential year, like this year, the meetings deal with processes and issues, rather than selecting candidates.

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Barker said that although he hasn't had time to review the proposed planks from the Republican caucuses Monday night, he expects to see a few positions that come up every year including something to do with the second amendment, right to life, lower taxes and limiting government's influence over the people.

The Story County Republican platform of 2018 includes statements like "we support efforts to reduce the number of divorces and harmful custody battles," and "we support the legalization of cannabis oil and other medical marijuana products."

The county Republican party stated in financial documents Jan. 19 that they have $13,341 in their account to fuel this year's campaigns.

Story County Democrats begin their work

Story County Democratic Party Chair Madalyn Anderson didn't return messages Tuesday, but told the Ames Tribune last week that she expected education to be a big topic at this year's caucuses.

The Story County Democratic Central Committee as of Jan. 19 was holding $29,814 in its bank account.

The Story County Democrats 2020 Platform includes positions such as support for "stronger enforcement and penalties for agricultural polluters," and opposition for "eminent domain for purely private/commercial uses."

Story Country Auditor Lucy Martin speaks during the Democratic Caucus at Ames Middle School Monday night.
Story Country Auditor Lucy Martin speaks during the Democratic Caucus at Ames Middle School Monday night.

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The Story County Democratic Platform Committee will meet on Feb. 12 to gather the various planks submitted at the caucuses and begin building the county's platform.

The Committee on Committees will meet on Feb 12 and will divide into three committees:

  • The Credentials Committee is responsible for verifying the credentials of the delegates and alternates to the County Convention

  • The Rules Committee is responsible for writing the Rules of Convention and overseeing and counting ballots of the elections held at Convention.

  • The Arrangements Committee is responsible for helping set up Convention and compiling the reports of the other committees into the Convention Book.

The Story County Democratic Convention is March 26. The District Convention is April 23 and the State Convention is June 18.

The county Democrats begin their work at the same time Iowa Democratic candidate for governor, Deidre DeJear, released campaign finance reports that show she had less than $10,000 available in her account while Gov. Kim Reynolds had $4.8 million.

Teresa Kay Albertson reports on the news in central Iowa for the Des Moines Register and the Ames Tribune. Reach her at talbertson@registermedia.com or 515-419-6098.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Political party conventions highlight the coming spring