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Opinion: The Need for Quality Leadership in North Iowa

Bennett Smith
Bennett Smith

One of the many issues that arose during the debate over the Prestage Farms economic development proposal was how it would impact our quality of life here in North Iowa. One of the principal drivers of strong communities with a high quality of life is that they have high quality educational, business, and political leadership in the community. Unfortunately, the people of Mason City and surrounding areas were poorly served by the kind of leadership demonstrated by many in trying to recruit Prestage Farms to this area.

First of all, it was presumptive and arrogant of Governor Branstad and the Iowa Economic Development Authority to assume that the people of North Iowa would simply accept what the mayor and the city council in Mason City told them about the Prestage Farms proposal without doing any independent research, and that anywhere outside Des Moines would somehow be an appropriate location for a hog-processing plant.

Secondly, a person’s character is foundational for leadership and is sometimes most clearly revealed in defeat, and for Ron Prestage to immediately accuse the good people of North Iowa of racism as the explanation for the defeat of the proposal says a lot about his character and about any city council member willing to do business with him in the future. Let us assume for a moment that he made a mistake, as we all do, so what is really interesting is both the lack of a quick and profound apology but also the lack of political skill. If he had graciously thanked the people of the community for their consideration of his project, he would have laid the groundwork for another proposal, but those were not the cards he played.

The goal of the promoters of this project was not to educate and involve the public in any meaningful way, but to hoodwink them as fast as possible. This explains both the rushed process and the selective presentation of evidence by the principals involved. (See my article in the Globe Gazette, Prestage proposal a risky bet on the future from April 28th, 2016) It also explains their anger when enough public pressure was brought to bear to convince three people on the council to vote against it.

Finally, we have to be careful who we follow as leaders. Several key promoters of the Prestage Farms proposal are not from Mason City and may not have stayed in the area long term. They have the financial ability to not have to live in neighborhoods affected by this proposal and have the resources to retire somewhere else eventually. Some may have felt that it was a way to burnish their resumes or advance their careers, but the vast majority of middle class and working class folks in the county would have been the ones who had to live with the negative consequences of their decisions.

The threat that we still face is a revived attempt by the State of Iowa, Prestage Farms, and those locally that will reap large financial rewards to bring back this hog-processing plant proposal. These groups may attempt to sweeten the previous offer and/or threaten to withhold state money from the downtown development project. That kind of proposal would cut both ways and may flip one or more of the councilmen that voted against the earlier proposal. While I understand the need for pragmatism in politics, I also believe there is a time to stand on principle, and any attempt to bully or buy this community should be immediately rejected. The need is for quality leadership in North Iowa.

Sincerely,

Bennett Smith

Bennett Smith is an asset manager in Clear Lake, IA and an instructor in history and political science at North Iowa Area Community College.


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