Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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William Meyers, a former Marine who came in third out of four candidates Tuesday in the Democratic 4th Congressional District primary, will run as an Independent this fall against Democrat Becky Greenwald and Republican incumbent Tom Latham.
Meyers said he began gathering the 300 signatures he needed to get his name on the ballot for the general election before the primary took place.
"We already have the signatures we need, and we're just waiting for the filing period to begin to file them," Meyers said in an interview with the Iowa Independent. "There is still time for the [Democratic] Party to talk me out of it, but I don't think that's likely."
Screenshot of Meyers' Web site, www.meyersforhouse.com, which has been converted to reflect his Independent affiliation.
He blamed behind-the-scenes moves by officials with local chapters of the Democratic Party who supported Greenwald for driving him to make this decision. He said local county officials, including Greenwald, who serves as chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, denied him access to the local chapter's central committees, damaging his campaign in Dallas, Warren and Webster counties, to name a few.
"People will say that I could get a voter list form the secretary of state's office," Meyers said. "But I was denied access to the central committees of certain counties, which cut me off from party activists who could have helped get my name out to voters."
"It was crooked the way the party treated me," he continued.
Meyers said he has no confidence in Greenwald as a candidate in the fall or in Congress if she is elected.
"She doesn't have any real ideas," he said. "She's just saying what she's been told to say by the party, and we are already represented by a rubber stamp. I don't want to elect someone like that again."
Meyers wouldn't comment on what, exactly, the Democratic Party could say between now and July 28 when when the filing period for independent candidates begins, saying only that he would like for Democratic officials to admit that they were wrong in denying him access to county central committees.
Meyers' decision comes on the heels of a Democratic primary in the 3rd Congressional District where party loyalty played a key role. In that race, incumbent Rep. Leonard Boswell made challenger Ed Fallon's support of Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in the 2000 election central to the campaign, calling Fallon's credentials as a Democrat into question.
"I'm part of a new generation of Democrats," Meyers said. "I'm willing to stand up and do what I think is right, so I'm not concerned about my political future. Doing an integrity check on my party is a good thing that will make it stronger in the long term."
Greenwald could not be reached for comment. Several Democratic county chairs named by Meyers did not return phone calls seeking comment.
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