Contact: Mark Langgin
319-290-8780
mlanggin@iowademocrats.org
(Oskaloosa, IA) – Recent mailings distributed by the Republican Party of Iowa on Representative Danny Carroll’s behalf are misrepresenting the facts about Representative Carroll’s record on the minimum wage in the state of Iowa.
Iowa’s minimum wage earners haven’t seen an increase in pay since 1997. Currently, Iowa minimum wage earners make $5.15/hour. A minimum wage earner working 40 hours per week will barely earn at a level of 50% of the official poverty level. Additionally, Iowa’s neighbors in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois all have a minimum wage that exceeds Iowa’s.
During the 2005-2006 sessions of the Iowa House, Representative Carroll voted against an amendment to the Economic Development Appropriations bill which would have increased Iowa’s minimum wage to $6.15/hour as of January 1, 2007 [House Amendment 8128 to HF 2549]. Additionally, HF 105 which would have increased the minimum wage to $6.65/hour, was kept from coming to the floor of the House for debate by the Republican leadership in the Iowa House in 2005.
“ Representative Carroll and the Republican leadership have prevented an increase in the minimum wage in Iowa for nearly 10 years,” said Iowa House candidate Eric Palmer, “now, Representative Carroll says he favors an increase in the minimum wage. He can’t have it both ways. He was against it twice and now he’s for it. He seems to be ‘playing politics’ with the lives of Iowa’s minimum wage workers.”
The mailing comes after controversy has arisen in other legislative races where the Republican Party of Iowa has engaged in smear tactics and misrepresentations of candidates records. These attacks even lead to Republican House candidate Kevin Wiskus to abandon the Republican Party and declare himself an independent.
House Democratic Leader Pat Murphy of Dubuque warned Iowans recently that Republicans have unleashed a wave of unprecedented direct mail that focuses on misrepresenting their records and blurring the facts.
“Republicans and Speaker Rants ought to be ashamed of themselves. They have set a new low and broken the public trust by sending out campaign mailings with distortions and outright lies,” said Murphy. “Apparently, even their own candidates believe they have crossed the line since one of them has already switched parties.”
