Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks released endorsements from 13 sheriffs across the First District on Tuesday. The list includes Des Moines County Sheriff Kevin Glendening, who was elected in 2020 as a Democrat.
Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholt said that Miller-Meeks is “always there for us.”
“She shows up, she listens, and she backs it up with her votes,” Sandholdt said. “Christina Bohannan voted against better health benefits for law enforcement and gave her own money to a group that wants no prisons and no police. She won’t be there for us, so we can’t be there for her.”
Miller-Meeks said she is honored to have the sheriffs backing her candidacy.
“These sheriffs answer the call at two in the morning in every corner of this district, and they know who has their backs,” she said. “Christina Bohannan is hard on cops and soft on criminals. She was one of a dozen legislators who voted to make it easier for sex offenders to get off the registry, and the people who keep this district safe haven’t forgotten it.”
Sheriffs for Miller-Meeks
- Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington
- Clinton County Sheriff Bill Greenwalt
- Des Moines County Sheriff Kevin Glendening
- Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee
- Iowa County Sheriff Todd Sauerbrei
- Jefferson County Sheriff Bart Richmond
- Lee County Sheriff Elliott Vandenberg
- Louisa County Sheriff Brandon Marquardt
- Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt
- Muscatine County Sheriff Quinn Riess
- Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane
- Van Buren County Sheriff Brad Hudson
- Warren County Sheriff Joe Carico
The Miller-Meeks campaign included the following in the press release:
Voted against better health benefits for law enforcement
- Voted no twice on Iowa’s Back the Blue law, which stopped cities from defunding their police and put DPS and DNR officers on the state peace-officer health plan. SF 342, Iowa House April 14, 2021 (63–30, Nay) and May 18, 2021 (56–35, Nay). House Journal 4/14 · House Journal 5/18 · Bill
Gave her own money to a group that wants no prisons and no police
- Donated through a Facebook fundraiser to Prairielands Freedom Fund and said she was “glad to contribute.” Prairielands works to “abolish the imprisonment of our fellow human beings” and has called for a “world without police.” Washington Free Beacon, Sept. 8, 2021 · Quad-City Times · Prairielands: Bond, Bail, and Abolition
Voted to make it easier for sex offenders to get off the registry
- One of 12 no votes on HF 489, which would have raised the wait before a sex offender in the most serious tiers could ask a court to come off the registry from five years to 25. Iowa House Feb. 17, 2021 (84–12, Nay). Tier III includes first-degree sexual abuse and continuous sexual abuse of a child. House Journal 2/17 · Bill · Iowa Code § 692A.102