Kathie Obradovich

kobradov@dmreg.com

When Tom Fiegen ran for U.S. Senate in 2010, he came in last in the three-way Democratic primary with less than 10 percent of the vote.

Why does he think this time will be different? “Shoe leather,” the Clarence lawyer and former state legislator says. He said he started attending Democratic central committee meetings 10 days after the 2014 election. In 2010, he didn’t enter the race until August 2009.

“I did not hit 99 (counties) in 2010; I’ve hit all 99 by December 12th of ’15 – and I’ve been back to 36,” he said. “So way more events, way more miles.”

His campaign agenda uses the acronym F.E.E.T: Food, Environment, Economy, Taxes. He said he’s also brought on a tech-savvy campaign adviser and has produced his first campaign web videos. They’re unconventional, combining music and compelling natural scenes with sparse text messages. Here’s a tip: Don’t watch the one on water quality with a full bladder.

Fiegen is one of four candidates for the Democratic nomination. The winner of the June 7 primary will face Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is seeking a seventh term.

Fiegen endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the presidential race and, like Sanders, he puts a high priority on campaign finance reform to roll back the domination of special interests in Congress. Also like Sanders, Fiegen doesn’t always follow conventional Democratic positions on issues.

For example, on global climate change, Fiegen disagrees with those who would impose a carbon tax as a way to curb greenhouse gas emissions. He said a carbon tax would hurt people in places like Cedar County, where there’s little public transportation and many commute to neighboring counties for work.

“Your carbon tax hurts my working people,” he said.

Instead, Fiegen would put a priority on replacing coal-fired power plants with renewable sources. He cited the need to upgrade the electric grid to help incorporate solar and wind energy. He also would impose a greater share of the cost for road construction and maintenance on commercial trucking. He’s also an advocate of high-speed rail and he criticizes officeholders for taking campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

Fiegen is even more passionate about water quality, and he again differs from some Democrats on how to pay to clean up pollution from nitrates. Instead of raising the sales tax on all Iowans to pay polluters to stop polluting, Fiegen said he would push for federal regulation changes to stop farm runoff into water sources.

He’s also parting ways with those in his party who say President Barack Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland, ought to be confirmed. Fiegen agrees that Sen. Chuck Grassley should give Garland a hearing, but he has concerns about confirming him. One is that Garland is a former prosecutor.

“We have too many prosecutors on the federal bench. It’s one of the reason we have 2.2 million people sitting in prison cells and rotting. And the federal prosecutors that I have seen on the bench still think like a prosecutor,” he said.

One thing that hasn’t changed: Fiegen has sharp elbows. During the 2010 campaign, he dogged eventual primary winner Roxanne Conlin about the tax credits her developer husband used to build low-income housing. This cycle, Fiegen has taken aim against both state Sen. Rob Hogg and former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge on environmental issues and campaign tactics.

On Judge: Fiegen says he has seen her only once so far on the campaign trail. “It seems to me she’s running what I call the Reagan campaign: sit at home, raise money, let other people do your work for you,” he said.

He also characterized her as being “very much on the side of the Farm Bureau” and concentrated livestock production operations. “A lot of people in Iowa blame her when they smell hog manure when they get up in the morning and smell hog manure when they go to bed at night.”

Judge’s campaign manager, Sam Roecker, called Fiegen’s criticism ridiculous. “Patty's running an aggressive campaign and will continue traveling across the state and having conversations with voters about the importance of this election and defeating Chuck Grassley.”

A political fact-checking website, Ballotpedia Verbatim, found a lack of evidence that Judge has been a vocal supporter of livestock confinement operations and rated as false Fiegen’s claim that Judge’s political base is big-money agricultural interests.

On Hogg: Fiegen discounted Hogg’s ability to win in rural Iowa. “Rob’s district is one of those safe blue districts that unless they have pictures of you doing illicit acts, you’re going to win as a Democrat. He has never beaten an incumbent Republican. … And so Rob is a city kid running in a safe, blue district saying, 'I know how to compete in rural Iowa.' B.S.!”

Judge run impulsive but built on experience

Hogg responded that he has won five elections in a row; in two races he replaced Republicans who were not running for re-election. “This is just more of the negative, divisive politics that Iowans don't like,” he said of Fiegen’s criticism.

Fiegen didn’t directly criticize Bob Krause, another former legislator and federal transportation official who also ran in the 2010 primary.

Fiegen’s early start to the race and extensive statewide travel may help overcome some of the deficit in money and name identification that hobbled his previous campaign. His environmental positions may help him attract some of the progressive and rural activists that have turned up their noses at Judge. In a year saturated with negative campaigning from presidential candidates, however, Fiegen’s zeal for attacking fellow Democrats may dampen enthusiasm for his campaign.

Obradovich: Senate candidate Hogg is no marshmallow