Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) is demanding Democratic leaders in the Iowa House remove Dolores Mertz as chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

The group points to what it calls Mertz’s ties to the factory farm industry, including the fact that her son owns a 4,000-head hog factory, as motivation for House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, to remove her from the chair position. Mertz, D-Ottosen, was re-appointed by House leadership as the Ag Committee chair for the 2009 legislative session last week.

“Mertz claims she supports family farms, but her votes and actions clearly show she has bent over backwards to please the factory farm industry,” said Kevin Shilling, a CCI member and livestock/poultry farmer. “McCarthy and Murphy knew exactly what they were doing when they re-appointed her as House Ag Chair. It’s shameful that they care more about the factory farm industry than the quality of life of everyday Iowans.”

Rep. Mark Kuhn, D-Charles City, is the group’s choice for the position due to his support for legislation that “called for stricter regulations on factory farms.”

Iowa CCI has long been an advocate for giving local governments zoning power over hog confinements. Currently, the authority rests in the state government.