Two senior state lawmakers representing the Perry area have announced their intentions to retire when their terms expire in January 2019: Rep. Clel Baudler (R-Greenfield) and Rep. Ralph Watts (R-Adel).
“In a few months I’ll be 79 years of age,” Baudler wrote Jan. 25 in his weekly newsletter. “After much thought, I have decided not to run for re-election this year.”
Baudler, for 32 years an Iowa State Trooper, has served 10 terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. The District 20 legislator was one of only six Republicans in the House to vote against the law curtailing the power of the public employee unions in the 2017 legislative session.
“Someone asked me the other day if I was content with what I have accomplished in the last 20 years,” Baudler said. “I immediately responded, ‘No.’ I am very proud of being a part of a group of representatives in the fight against illegal drugs and for public safety. The fight that I have waged against illegal drugs is a fight that we have to fight and have to win again and again. It continues to change, and it is never ending. In saying all of this, I think it is the right decision at the right time.”
Watts has served eight terms in the Iowa House. District 19 includes much of Dallas County but not the cities of Perry, Dawson or LInden.
“We all reach those turning points in our lives where we make decisions that are best for ourselves and our families,” Watts wrote Feb. 2 on his Facebook page. “This is one of those points for me.”
Watts, formerly a utility industry engineer, has staunchly opposed oversight and regulation by state federal agencies and departments such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Education.
“Even though over 50 percent of our state budget goes directly to fund K-12 schools, we are being shortchanged by the outcome,” Watts said in his retirement announcement. “Far too many of our young people are graduating with marginal skills and without a fundamental appreciation for our system of government. A large percentage of our young people say they prefer socialism as a form of government. It is an indication that liberalism has infected the education process to an intolerable degree, and I personally assess much of that damage to our state Department of Education, which is in serious need of an overhaul.”
Candidates looking to succeed these Perry-area lawmakers can file nomination papers for the June 5 primary election between Feb. 26 and March 16.
