Native son plans his run
A Red Oak native has officially joined the 2018 Democratic Party race to become Iowa’s next governor.
Speaking before a crowd of more than 100 people, John Norris, who now resides in Des Moines with his wife, Jackie, announced his candidacy at a kick-off event at the Norris family farm July 8.
Norris is no stranger to politics, having worked for Congressman Tom Harkin in his office and election campaigns. He also served as state director of the Iowa Farm Unity Coalition, and chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. He was Congressman Leonard Boswell’s campaign manager, and later, chief of staff for Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Norris’ brother, James, spoke about John during the kick-off event, saying John has a passion for farm families.
“We all share the same values, we come from the same area. That’s why he’s holding his kick-off event here, in the area he has a passion for and cares about. He cares about family farms and wants them to be successful. He cares about or environment and water quality. He’s not the type of politician that will tell you what you want to hear. That’s not him,” James said.
Speaking before the crowd, Norris said it was his experiences in Red Oak, which led to his involvement in politics.
“This is the place that made me who I am today, this farm and this community. It motivates me to be involved in the government and politics and try to make us a better state,” Norris said.
Before deciding to run, Norris said he wrote a letter to everyone who asked him to run, and said he was not going to run. Norris said he changed his mind after wife Jackie urged him to re-read the letter.
“I re-read it, and I said, ‘I just wrote all the reasons I should run, and why I wanted to run, to say I wasn’t,’ and she said ‘Yes. You should listen to yourself.’ That was the moment of my decision, and it’s felt right ever since,” Norris explained.
Norris added he has run statewide campaigns, as well as worked in the governor’s office, and knows the work involved in getting there, and being governor.
“I spent a couple of months just testing my own gut, to see if I had it, and testing Iowans to see if I was connected, and it went really well. What really weighed on me was the responsibility of what I think this is. Changing a state mentality to be more optimistic about our future,” Norris said.
In addition, he was also urged to run by former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, over the Christmas holiday.
“He took me to breakfast and encouraged me to think about doing this. Over the course of the winter, the actions of the Iowa Legislature was another motivating factor for me, because I think they did some things that are very harmful to the state in the long term,” Norris commented.
Norris said he had a number of priorities should he be elected Iowa’s next governor, the most important being a return to Iowa values.
“I don’t see that reflected in what’s being done right now. There’s no investment in education, just an investment in sweetheart deals to a handful of corporations to the tune of a billion dollars. We went from a $900 million surplus in the last five years, to over $100 billion in the red. Education, healthcare, and the environment were the recipients of none of that. It’s all gone to help a few at the top of the ladder,” Norris said. “I think we need to re-prioritize what I think has made Iowa, historically, a great place to live. A great public education system, access to healthcare, water you can drink and rivers and lakes you can swim in, restoring our environment, protecting our land, and helping rural Iowa recover. There’s fewer and fewer farm families out here. We’ve got to work harder at stimulating economic growth.”
With the nationwide political climate being so divisive, Norris stressed a need for bipartisanship moving forward.
“There’s been too much I’m right and you’re wrong right now. I’m hoping to engage Iowans in a conversation. That’s what my campaign is about. You have to listen, and share ideas, and I think we can find common ground based on our values, and figure out the best path forward. It may not be what everyone agrees to, but still understand the intent of our motivation. If that is based in helping more Iowans lead a better life, the I think you’ll get the majority of folks who want to go in that direction,” said Norris.
Following the kick off event in Red Oak, Norris said he was spending close to a week traveling the state, and focusing on building an organization.
“We’ve got to build county by county, town by town, and precinct by precinct. With so many candidates in the race, this will be a primary like we haven’t seen in this state in a long time, on both sides of the aisle. We’ll be building an organization that can empower people to help. I think people have become distasteful of politics, but our democracy is dependent upon the engagement of people. I’m going to try to re-engage people, and empower them to go work in their neighborhoods and their communities on my behalf,” Norris said.