Driscoll, Lawler need to listen to all of us

All of us like to believe our elected representatives care about their constituents and prioritize listening to their concerns. However, Sen. Dawn Driscoll has not attended a public forum in Iowa County for at least two years, and Rep. Judd Lawler did not attend one in his first year on the job.

The July 16 issue of The Hometown Current contained a quote as follows, “Too often legislative forums turn combative.”

If Iowa County has not recently been on the receiving end of a public forum, how can it be known that it would be “combative?” In the past, our representatives attended three public forums per legislative session in Iowa County We did not hear raised voices or rude comments.

On the other hand, we did ask important questions that legislators were not always comfortable answering. That’s our job and right as citizens.

Here are some more important questions.

How did you arrive at the decision to make Iowa the first state in the USA to remove a class of people from its civil rights code?

How did you arrive at the decision to mandate a Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa when you’ve also voted to ban books in public schools and ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives all across the state?

Let’s continue asking Driscoll and Lawler to attend a public forum in Iowa County so all of us can be heard.

[Editor’s note: the quote was not a direct quote from Erin Eichhorn, Chamber of Commerce Director, but a paraphrase. The word “combative” is that of the article’s author, Winona Whitaker. Eichhorn was referencing impolite behavior at recent forums in other Iowa communities, not in Iowa County.]