Email from Steve Hoodjer to [email protected]:
On Saturday, October 23, Iowa Public Television hosted a debate among all three candidates for Secretary of State. Libertarian Jake Porter debated with the Democrat incumbent Michael Mauro and Republican challenger Matt Schulz, a lawyer and Council Bluffs city councilman. Porter is the only mid-major party candidate for statewide office who has been allowed an equal stage with his major party opponents in the general election cycle. Libertarian candidates for governor and senate have been excluded from candidate forums since after the fields were set in the June primaries.
Porter used the debate to tout his experience in business and elections, the two areas a Secretary of State deals with. Porter is an inventory management specialist at a major retailer and is in the process of starting a local newspaper. He may be familiar to Libertarian IPR readers as a former representative on the Libertarian National Committee and chief of staff for George Phillies’ 2008 campaign for President. His signature issue has been a call to reduce the Secretary of State’s salary from $103,000 to $50,000 which is close to the median income in Iowa.
Video and transcript of the debate is available at: http://www.iptv.org/iowapress/story.cfm/1594/video/icf_20101023_106
Porter’s website is : www.jakeporter.org