According to KCCI:

Former Dallas County Sheriff Brian Gilbert turned himself in at the Dallas County Jail on Sunday.

There was a warrant for Gilbert’s arrest on a charge of first-degree harassment and third-degree harassment issued on June 11.

Court documents show that Gilbert called Janice Gruver “stating that he would come to Iowa and put a bullet in Kris’s head (referring to Kris Johnson a friend of Tina Gilbert) and Tina Gilbert’s head (defendant’s ex-wife and daughter of Janice) and be gone without anyone knowing it.”

In 2006, a jury found Gilbert guilty of stealing a bundle of cash amounting to $120,000 after a highway traffic stop resulted in a drug bust, but the former sheriff did not serve any jail time.

A subsequent report by the State Auditor found additional irregularities in handling and storing evidence, and there have also been allegations of misconduct surrounding the Dallas County jail during Gilbert’s tenure as sheriff.

(In the interests of full disclosure, after Gilbert left office, there was a special election in January 2007 to replace him.  I did some campaign work for Dan Brickner, the Democratic candidate who ultimately lost that special election to current sheriff Chad Leonard.)

New homes replace farmland in Dallas County as suburbs grow on the west side of Des Moines. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The county, which is west of Des Moines, has trended Republican in recent years, and today there are only two elected Democrats countywide. But with a large contingent of registered independents and a re-energized Democratic Party across the state, Barack Obama’s supporters have hope that the tide may be turning.

“If Obama can keep the vote close in Dallas County, that’s a win,” said Gordon Fischer, former executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party. “It’s a county the Republicans are used to racking up a big margin in, but I think this year could be different. When it’s all said and done, I think both parties will look at Dallas County as the place where it was decided.”

In 2004, President Bush carried Iowa by 10,000 votes, fewer than 1 percent of the total votes cast. Half of that margin came from Dallas County.

Most polls indicate that Iowa as a whole still leans in Obama’s direction. A recent Pollster.com survey showed the Illinois senator with a 48-42 lead over Republican John McCain. But the race has tightened, with National Public Radio (NPR) calling Iowa a tossup and a recent Rasmussen poll showing Obama’s lead slipping from 9 percentage points to 5, all of which makes it even more likely that the voters of Dallas County will play a big part in picking the statewide winner.

In Dallas County, the question is whether Obama’s campaign can extend a statewide trend toward the Democrats into precincts where the GOP typically drives up large margins. In 2004, there were 11,534 registered Republicans to 8,761 registered Democrats, an advantage of 2,773. Another 13,702 independents choose “No Party” as their affiliation. As of Aug. 1, 2008, Republicans still outnumbered Democrats 12,749 to 10,829, with 14,634 No Party voters, meaning the Democrats had gained 850 voters. That follows the trend in Iowa as a whole, where there are now 100,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

Interviews with Dallas County voters by the Iowa Independent paint a picture of a county with a split personality. To the east sit the suburbs of Des Moines, with their strip malls, taupe-colored cookie-cutter subdivisions and commuter lifestyles. In the western portions of the county, sparsely populated towns like Redfield and Minburn are surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans, not to mention a concern that the “sprawl” that has moved into cities like Waukee, West Des Moines and Urbandale will one day reach them.

“They’re worried about their farmland being gobbled up by developers,” said Ralph Watts, a Republican who has represented most of Dallas County in the state Legislature for six years and who has lived in Adel since the late 1960s. “You have one of the fastest-growing areas in the Midwest and you have towns that are about as rural as you can get all in the space of about 25 miles. And there are big differences in the issues they care about.”

The majority of the growth is happening in places like Waukee, on the eastern edge of Dallas County, where the population grew 119 percent since 2000 and which added more than 1,100 dwellers between 2006 and 2007. Its population now has soared past 12,000.

Along Highway 6 through the heart of Waukee, residential and commercial developments are popping up all around, and many residents are racing to catch up. Schools are faced with exploding enrollment, once rural landscapes are replaced with new homes and a once sleepy town braces for more growth.

Most voters who were interviewed from these rapidly growing suburbs cited economic concerns as the No. 1 factor in their decision of who to support for the presidency. Democrats have hoped to use McCain’s opposition to the farm bill and ethanol subsidies to their advantage in Iowa, but those issues have taken a back seat to concerns that directly affect pocketbooks.

“I think everyone’s thoughts are focused on the economy and the housing market,” said Vickie McCarthy, a school teacher from Waukee. “People are concerned about the changes to their lifestyle, gas prices and providing for their families.”

Farther down the highway, past the construction sites and strip malls, the rural scenes of Iowa once again take over. Out here, zoning laws governing the placement of hog lots are just as important to voters as tax policy. Whereas in Waukee, student enrollment has more than doubled over the past decade, surging from 2,128 in 1999 to 5,443 last year, in these rural cities and townships, dipping population has led to districts merging to save money on repairs to aging facilities.

Todd Vance, who lives in rural western Dallas County, said he does hear a lot of concerns from farmers about McCain’s opposition to the farm bill, but most of the people he talks to are focused on national security and worries about future acts of terrorism.

“Social issues, too, like gay marriage and abortion,” he said. “Those are big.”

Other voters shared the same sentiment.

Jordan Creek Town Center, a 200-acre shopping center on the Dallas County side of West Des Moines.

While walking into Jordan Creek Town Center, a 200-acre shopping center in the Dallas County portion of West Des Moines, Tammy Whitman said Christian, conservative values are predominate.

“That’s the kind of candidate we’re looking for,” she said. “Someone who shares our values.”

For Dallas County Republicans voting in the Iowa caucuses last January, that someone was not John McCain. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a darling of social conservatives, shared victory with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, both garnering 32 percent of the vote. McCain came in a distant third with 13 percent.

For these socially conservative voters, McCain’s choice for vice president could go a long way to endear him to their hearts. Most mentioned it when discussing the candidates, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty seeming to be the favorite.

But Ralph Brown, an attorney from Dallas Center who served as Republican county chair in the mid-80s, said he doubts so-called social conservatives will end up voting for Obama if they aren’t happy with McCain’s vice presidential pick.

“Maybe they wouldn’t turn out, but I think all Iowans understand how important their role in this election is and will weigh their vote very seriously,” he said. “I’ve heard people say how much the vice president pick will affect their vote, but I don’t see that happening.”

People seem to be talking a lot about experience, Brown said, and who they feel “comfortable with as a leader.”

“These are uncertain times,” he said. “With the economy and with foreign policy, people want someone they feel confident in.”

In conversations with voters, Obama’s race was never brought up. Demographically, Dallas County is 94.7 percent is white, which is almost exactly the same as Iowa as a whole (93.9 percent). Obama received a huge bump nationally when he was victorious in the Iowa caucuses, with many saying it proved that white voters would support a black candidate.

“I don’t think anyone is using race as a factor,” Whitman said. “I think Iowa is a very open state in that regard. I mean, he’s already won here.”

Fischer, an early supporter of Obama’s, said he’s confident that the Democrat can do well in Dallas County despite its history of supporting Republicans.

“If you look, there are a lot of registered independents,” he said. “I think Obama is the type of candidate that will appeal to moderate Republicans and independents, so he should do well.”

Watts, the Republican legislator, said the high number of voters registered as independents can be deceiving.

“I think a lot of voters who register as independents are actually more conservative than the ones who register as Republicans,” he said.

Beth Dalbey, former editor of The Dallas County News in Adel, agrees.

“I think even those who register as independents still lean to the right,” she said. “I think the thing you see in Dallas County is that the more conservative branch of the Republican Party is in control and has been for quite a while.”

Watts said he is confident McCain and the Republicans will once again carry Dallas County.

“I’m very confident,” he said. “This is a very Republican county. No doubt about it.”

Battleground Zero

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Of the many communities and unincorporated regions in the tri-county region only two communities approved the sales tax increase.  Overall only 15 percent of voters in the three counties supported Project Destiny.  In Des Moines alone 21,000 voters rejected the proposal.

In Bevington, a small Warren County community, two of the four registered voters turned out and voted yes.  Dawson, a small Dallas County town, saw 27 supporters turnout versus 12 opponents.  Bevington and Dawson were the only communities to approve Project Destiny.  However, because none of the other contiguous regions of major cities and communities approved the plan the local option sales tax will likely mean little to those communities.

Turnout was high for a special election.  Voter participation was at about 20 percent in Polk County and 25 percent in Dallas and Warren counties.

Supporters of Project Destiny did not say whether they were considering bringing back the initiative to voters at a later date.  However in comments to Iowa Independent yesterday Cyndi Fisher of Yes To Destiny said that a defeat of the proposal would cause a need for community leaders and government officials in the tri-county region to discuss the results.

George Davey of NoLocalOption.com, an opposition group, told Iowa Independent yesterday that a victory would be a “two-point takedown.”  The next step opponents would consider is lobbying the state legislature to change state law to create a “timeout” period of three or four years after a defeat before a local option sales tax increase could be considered again by voters.

With such an overwhelming defeat supporters of Project Destiny told the Des Moines Register that there were a lot of citizen concerns that would not or could not be immediately solved before the initiative was brought up again.

Those voting “No” outnumber those voting “Yes” by a substantial margin, with 85 percent saying no and 15 percent saying yes.  The actual voting numbers were 6678 in favor and 38251 opposed.

Cyndi Fisher, spokesperson for Yes to Destiny, told Iowa Independent earlier today that “a majority of the voters in the combined contiguous cities must approve the tax before any of the cities can collect it.”

Without the victory in the 8-city region in Polk County, nor Polk County itself, it appears that the plan is a lost cause.

Live election results were not available online in Warren or Dallas County, but you can track results in Polk County here.

Stick with Iowa Independent for more as the results come in.

The plan, known as Project Destiny, was created by business leaders and local officials in the three counties along with commerce groups like the Greater Des Moines Partnership.  According to Cyndi Fisher of the supporting Yes To Destiny organization, if the Project Destiny proposal passes in all cities and communities in the tri-county region it would raise $75 million in its first year alone.  Should passage occur, the sales tax increase would take affect January 1, 2008.

However, opponents have put up a strong campaign against the Destiny project.  George Davey of the opposition group NoLocalOption.com launched his website to oppose the initiative because of the nature of the tax.  His group points out that the passage of Project Destiny would actually be an overall 17 percent  tax increase on residents in the three counties, via a 1 percent increase of the sales tax.  They argue that a sales tax increase is regressive and hurts low-income and poor citizens the most.  More generally, the burden of paying for the cultural improvements and property tax cuts would fall on the families who would be less likely to benefit from property tax cuts, as they are not likely to be property owners.

The opposition seems to be making the stronger case to residents of Polk, Dallas and Warren counties, however.  A Des Moines Register Metro Poll conducted June 25 to 27 showed that 61 percent of those polled who were likely to vote today would be opposed to increasing the sales tax by 1 percent.  Thirty-two percent said they supported the plan, while 7 percent were unsure.

What remains to be seen are today’s election results.  In the three-county region, 41 of 46 communities will directly be voting on the 28E Agreement, which is Project Destiny.  The other five communities will be voting on something similar.  The 28E Agreement would create a 15-member board that would manage the Tri-County Regional Authority that would manage the sales tax revenue.

“A majority of the voters in the combined contiguous cities must approve the tax before any of the cities can collect it,” Fisher said.  “The tax is collected and redistributed only in the cities or in the unincorporated area of the county where a majority of voters have approved the local option sales tax.”

When asked what future plans existed should Project Destiny fail, Fisher said that community leaders and government officials would likely have a discussion after the election to consider the next steps.

Should Destiny pass, Davey and other opponents are not likely to mount any legal challenges.

“There are many legal issues which could stall implementation, but I would not have the resources to tackle that,” Davey said.  “More people would need to step up to the donation plate for this to happen.”

Davey also added that should only a few communities pass the increase, he expects Destiny supporters to attempt to have a new elections in those areas to seek success.

“We will be there to fight them all the way?” he said.

And should Destiny fail tonight?

“We believe our victory tomorrow will be viewed as a two-point takedown; next we plan to go for the pin.  If they bring it up we will fight it again, and it will be easier to fight it now because we are well organized now.  We also plan to work with the state lawmakers to shore up the local option law because we feel there should be a time-out period after defeat of three or four years.  We also feel they should be restricted to regular elections where voter turnout is higher and more representative of a democracy.”

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. You can find a list of polling locations for your local precinct in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties here.

Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy will take part in a new educational series launched by the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation next Tuesday. “Community Conservations” kicked off earlier this month with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper as guest speaker. The series touts “stories of developing regional economic opportunities through arts and culture.”

Murphy, pictured above, served as mayor of Pittsburgh for three terms, stepping down in December and recently accepting a position as senior resident fellow with the nonprofit education and research-driven Urban Land Institute. He has been widely credited for leading the reinvention of Pittsburgh’s economy following the decline of the steel industry.

When he took office in 1994, Pittsburgh was suffering from a severe economic downturn and a deteriorating physical environment. Over the years, he led a drastic turnaround, including the transformation of former industrial sites into vibrant residential neighborhoods and miles of riverfront public space. This led to more than $4 billion in new investment in the city, including new office towers for the city’s major financial institutions, world-class professional sports facilities and an environmentally conscious development expansion of the city’s convention center.

At the ULI, Murphy focuses on urban development issues.

“He has a proven track record of turning ideas and plans into results, and his insights will be invaluable in helping us expand and improve our program of work on building sustainable cities,” said ULI President Richard Rosan at the time Murphy was hired.

Murphy is an avid biker and marathon runner as well as a leader in the national Rails-to-Trails movement. He supervised the building of nearly 14 miles of trails that run through the center of Pittsburgh and connect to riverfronts. This was a vast face-lift for a city that previously been named as one of the worst cities in the country for bike riding in a metropolitan area by Bicycling Magazine.

Despite all of this, however, not everyone in Pittsburgh views the former mayor kindly. As mayor, as well as in his earlier legislative career, Murphy didn’t always do things as the Democratic leadership would have liked. Ironically, when he was unable to overcome Pittsburgh’s financial shortfalls, Murphy requested the state Department of Community and Economic Development declare the city to be in financial distress. This allowed the city to qualify for financial help from the state, but also allowed the Legislature he often balked against to appoint a coordinator with the power to override existing union contracts and institute new taxes.

The union contracts, in particular, were a thorn in Murphy’s side. In June of last year Murphy agreed to cooperate with city and state officials in relation to a deal he struck with Pittsburgh firefighters in 2001. The move ended a two-year criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The union endorsed Murphy for re-election — arguably providing votes which put him back into office — after he approved a contract worth up to $12 million with a no layoff clause.

Local campaign officials say the “Yes to Destiny” plan will raise $750 million over 10 years through the sales tax increase. Proceeds would be split into thirds: One-third for property tax relief in each of the 41 communities voting, one-third earmarked for publicly announced government plans and one-third for regional “quality of life” projects. Participating cities have set a 10 year plan for use of their portion of the funds.

Proponents believe property tax burdens will be reduced and regional quality of life amenities will be enhanced. This, in turn, will allow the region to retain current employers and employees while attracting new ones.

Opponents say this plan is “the largest local option tax increase in Iowa history” and point to an April report by the Tax Foundation. In that report, Iowa is listed as 18th in the nation for state and local tax burden. Iowans, according to the report, will pay 11 percent of their incomes in taxes to state and local governments this year.

If passed, the third of the tax earmarked for “quality of life” project would be managed by a new 15-member board called the Tri-County Regional Authority. Funding would be distributed, according to YesToDestiny.org, for regional quality of life facilities (30 percent), recreational trails (25 percent), scientific, arts, cultural and historic preservation organizations (25 percent) and additional regional property relief through regional property tax equalization and transition (20 percent).

Murphy will speak at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on Tuesday. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is a $12 per person charge, which includes lunch. A registration form available for those who wish to attend.