On March 31st, the Iowa House put on a show. Democrats used Rule 60 to force a vote on multiple bills that had been stalled in committee for months. These weren't obscure measures. They were common-sense policies to:

· Raise Iowa's stagnant $7.25 minimum wage

· Restore collective bargaining rights for public workers

· Crack down on wage theft

· Strengthen unemployment protections

· Establish paid family leave

· Address worker misclassification

The result was a 92-0 roll-call vote—every member who voted said yes. Every single Republican present voted to bring these bills to the floor for an up-or-down vote. It was a chance for real debate on issues that affect hundreds of thousands of Iowa families.

But those "yes" votes were a mirage. The moment the vote was over, Speaker Pat Grassley used his authority to re-refer every single bill back to the same committees that had stalled them. Those committees are effectively done for the year. The bills are dead—killed not by a recorded vote against working Iowans, but by a procedural trick to save face and appease corporate donors.

My opponent, Rep. Ann Meyer, voted "yes" on the discharge to look good, then stood silently as their leader buried the bills. She chose a procedural trick over a real vote. Her campaign donors include Walmart—a corporation that has fought for years against workers’ rights and wages—along with hundreds of thousands from other corporate PACs. That tells you who she fights for. Voters in this district deserve to know why.

Kris Williams

Fort Dodge

[D] Candidate for Iowa House, District 8