Backers of a controversial member of the Iowa Supreme Court stopped in the Quad Cities today to support his bid for retention in the November election. The "Yes on Retention Bus Tour" is following the same schedule as the group trying to oust David Wiggins from the court for his part in the 2009 decision legalizing gay marriage in Iowa.
Christine Branstad has worked as an attorney in the state for 15 years, as a prosecutor and defense lawyer, and argued before district, appellate, and supreme courts. And she says she never worried about politics, and what party the judges belonged to.
"Up until two years ago there were no campaigns. Judges who had been removed were removed for misconduct and it wasn't a partisan issue.
And now there's this attempt to create a partisan split that doesn't exist."
Brandstad calls the campaign against Wiggins an un-fair attack on the Iowa court system. And she thinks it'll hurt the state's ability to attract new business.
"One of the factors that people don't realize that businesses look at when they're looking at a state where they want to open a plant is the stability of the court system. And that's one of Iowa's draws that is highly under-recognized."
Two years ago, three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their bids for retention, also because of the gay marriage ruling. But Brandstad hopes all the attention paid to the issue then, and since, will alert state residents to the latest threat to their court system.
The "dueling" bus tours began Monday morning and will end on Friday.
Yes on Wiggins Tour
