By Rep. Dawn

Pettengill

Week 4 has been full of good weather and committee work.

Some of the highlights of the week are in the presentations. We heard from the Superintendent of Banking about the status of our banks and the subprime mess. The Director of Rebuild Iowa reported on their budget, which we were not happy about at all and we’ve asked her to come back Monday with more information. The Secretary of Agriculture talked to us about farm flood damage. The Insurance Commissioner spoke to us on the status of the consumer advocate and insurance regulations. The Association of County Auditors came to State Government to talk about the success of last year’s election and for the first time, every person in the state voted on a paper ballot. Lots to know and every day, I’m happy to be a fast reader!

Remember last week’s question of the week was, should we mandate gender balance on appointed boards and commissions? The overwhelming majority of you said no, pick the most qualified individuals, not whether they are man or woman. In fact, only five respondents said yes. Last Saturday, the Constituent Advisory Committee considered the issue and unanimously said to have the most qualified. On Thursday, this bill made it through the State Government committee, without my vote. I will let you know what happens, but the whole experience gave me an idea. One of the arguments for the bill was, women need to be asked to get involved, they don’t volunteer. And another was, women need to be nurtured while on a board. Frankly, that just made me mad. A board member’s responsibility is to do a job, not nurture one of your colleagues, but okay, I heard what they were saying. I decided while listening to the debate that I will sponsor a workshop for women. The focus of the workshop will be to encourage and teach women how to become qualified and move into policy making positions. The Steering Committee has already been selected and I expect the workshop to be in May or June. There will be no charge except for lunch. If you’re interested in attending, please let me know. And if you men are feeling left out, I’ll have one for you too!

Visitors this week were Ranae Becker of Benton Development Group and Jim Buch of Belle Plaine. Another Belle Plaine resident, Doug Henderson was here, but we didn’t get to meet up. If you’re heading to Des Moines, I’d love for you to stop in for a visit.