Term change donors named

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By Tom Saul | Friday, July 21, 2006 1:48 AM CDT | () comments

A group pushing four-year terms for Davenport elected officials got the bulk of its campaign money from five large contributions, and more than 20 percent of its donors listed addresses outside the city, according to a disclosure report filed Thursday.

Citizens for Smart Governance, which is spearheading a referendum on four-year staggered terms that will be on a special election ballot Tuesday, raised $15,055 from 52 donors. So far, it has spent $10,339 on the campaign and has outstanding bills for another $15,089, according to the report filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Nearly all of the money was spent with Victory Enterprises of Davenport. The political consulting firm has done such things as coordinate the campaign to pass the referendum, identify voters who are likely to cast ballots in the special summer election — when a low turnout is expected — and send mailings to potential voters, according to the report.

“We decided to use them because they have done this before and they are professionals and we needed help,” said Jim Connell, treasurer for Citizens for Smart Governance.

Chelsea Thode of East Moline was hired to help coordinate the petition drive that collected 1,835 signatures from city voters, an effort that allowed the special election to be called, according to the report. While she provided secretarial and other services, volunteers rounded up all the signatures, Connell said.

“Charlie Brooke had 800 signatures from when he was mayor, but we decided not to use those,” Connell added. “We started from scratch and we got them all in pretty short order after some of us went door to door.”

Brooke, now Davenport’s 6th Ward alderman, favors the change to four-year terms.

Larry d’Autremont, who opposes the term changes and has been rounding up opposition, said the list of donors, particular the five largest contributors, shows that DavenportOne is the real power behind the drive to eliminate two-year terms.

DavenportOne is a Chamber of Commerce, economic development and downtown partnership organization.

“This is DavenportOne on a power grab, it’s pretty clear,” said d’Autremont, a former member of the Davenport City Council. “To me, this is the smoking gun.”

Dan Huber, president and chief executive officer of DavenportOne, has made no secret of the organization’s involvement in the effort to get longer terms for the city’s elected officials. He could not be reached for comment Thursday in response to d’Autremont’s remarks.

Under Davenport’s existing system, all City Council seats are up for election every two years, making it possible for an entirely new set of aldermen to be elected.

Five contributors to Citizens for Smart Governance gave $2,000 each, according to the disclosure report filed late Thursday afternoon. They are Arnold’s Body Shop, Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors, the Rhythm City Casino, McCarthy-Bush Foundation and Mutual Security Inc.

John Arnold of Arnold’s Body Shop said he gave $2,000 because he believes four-year terms are needed to get more experienced aldermen, allow for more informed decision-making and to further economic growth in the city.

“What’s going on, at least from my seat in the ballpark, is that after a candidate conducts an initial campaign and gets into office, there is a learning curve that is huge,” he said. “They are devoting time out of their private lives and they want to contribute something, but halfway through their term they have to start campaigning all over again.”

Four-year staggered terms would reduce some of the pressure on elected officials and allow them to concentrate more on city business, he said. “I believe in four-year terms and wanted to put my money where my mouth is,” he added.

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563)383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.