Our ear to the ground regarding the non-partisan primary election in Davenport is hearing pretty much ~~ meh. It is not that important things are not at stake, or dissatisfaction could not be registered. It seems that there is just not any vibrant campaigning going on, the races perhaps being presumed determined.
Here is the listing of Davenport candidates in challenged races with information gleaned from an April 15th 2015 registered voter list and current official contributions reports (local, state and federal). Our purpose is limited — mostly to list the party registration, remarkable aspects to the donor history from state and federal agencies and plebiscite history from Auditor’s records going back to 2011 only. We think the latter is useful as an indicator of the length of civic concern. In some cases we add a few opinionated annotations. Our party registration listing does not match the listing of registered Republican candidates on the Scott County Republican web site for one or two candidates.
Donor histories require $250 at the federal level and $25 at the state and local level for listing. We regret that we do not have a chart of key votes by incumbents on issues that have come before the city. Our impression is that for most municipal candidates philosophic consistency is debatable. We would love to see a uniform conservative rating process set up. We strongly encourage contacting the candidates and asking them questions about issues of concern. Contact information is available at the Scott County Auditor’s office website.
Mayoral – vote for one – for placement on general election ballot
Bill Gluba – Registered Democrat, incumbent mayor and real-estate agent. A leftist Democrat who has given thousands to hard left Democrat candidates at the state and federal level including the Obama campaign. His plebiscite participation is 100%. He bows to Chinese despots on American soil. Member of various liberal organizations. He irresponsibly burdens area taxpayers by trying to attract welfare dependent foreign nationals without city council authorization.
David Hereid – No listing for him on the April 15 data base we used (Auditor’s office would of course be more current). No plebiscite history. No donor history.
Frank Klipsch – Registered no party. Most significant challenger to Gluba. Radio spots and yard signs in evidence. We get the impression he would be just be another “public private partnership” Chamber of Commerce type of politician (which means taxpayers take the risk and council members hand out bennies). No federal donor history. State and local donor history shows mixed token amounts to a few Democrats and Republicans. His plebiscite history is not great, in four years missing a nonpartisan primary and general. A question to ask Klipsch and all non-incumbents is how many city council meetings they have attended.
Dean Weber – Registered Republican. City street department employee. No plebiscite history – does not vote? No donor history at local state or federal level.
The mayoral race gets more attention than it deserves for Davenport. An assertive taxpayer conscious council is key.
Alderman at Large – vote for no more than two. Top four vote getters appear on November ballot
Barny Barnhill – Registered Republican. Current Fifth Ward alderman. Plebiscite history is 100%. Stae and local reportable donor history is almost 100% Republican with glaring exception of an April 2014 $50 to Maria Bribriesco. What’s with that? Nevertheless we believe Barnhill remains a conservative. No reportable federal donor history.
Dale G. Gilmour – Registered Republican. Plebiscite history is 100%. Local and state donor history is 100% Republican. No reportable federal history.
Jason Gordon – Registered Republican. Incumbent Alderman at Large. Plebiscite history is 100%. Donor history state and local is Republican, no federal history.
Kyle Gripp – Registered Republican. Plebiscite history is not great, missing two municipal primary elections. Donor history is pretty much nil state and local level. No federal donor history. We will pass over him this election.
Phil Yerrington — Registered Republican – former mayor. Plebiscite record is fare but he was a last-minute, no-budget, no-party (write-in candidate) in the last election, doing remarkably well as such. No donor history.
Second Ward Alderman (pick no more than one)
Maria Dickmann is a registered Republican (April 2015 report). She has a 100% plebiscite record but 2012 included the Democrat primary. No donor history.
Bill Edmond is a registered Republican and incumbent. He has a 100% plebiscite record. Donor history is 100% Republican according to state filings. No reportable federal contributions. Definitely the choice for the Second Ward.
Jim Kealoha is registered No Party. Plebiscite history is poor to mediocre . Record indicates only voting in general elections in 2012 and 2014, no municipal general election voting history. No donor history checked.
Fourth Ward Alderman (pick no more than one)
Ray Ambrose – Registered Republican and the incumbent. Plebiscite participation is 100%. Republican donor history at state and local level is Republican with exception of a $50 donation to active Democrat Bill Boom alderman campaign. No federal donor history. Our pick for the ward.
Matt Craven – Registered Republican. Plebiscite participation is general election only. No vote participation in 2011. No donor history
David Sodemann – Registered Republican. Plebiscite history is very weak – 2012 general only. No donor history.
Fifth Ward Alderman (pick no more than one) – All three that appear on the primary ballot are registered Democrats. Top two will appear on November ballot. We suggest a write in vote in “Democrat” wards .
Other races – Only Davenport has a primary election October 6th. The November general election ballot appearances for other municipalities in the county are set except for them.
R Mall
