| In an op-ed this week to the Des Moines Register, Republican State Senator Dan Dawson went after Joe Mitchell for “displaying his own self-interest.”
Dawson argues that Mitchell is only driven by “his own paychecks” and called out his self-serving arrangement of “work[ing] for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development while, apparently, simultaneously developing apartment buildings in Iowa.”
Dawson writes that “the Iowa taxpayer’s loss has been Mitchell’s gain” – the latest criticism Mitchell faces for displaying “self-serving concern,” amidst questions swirling about carpetbagging to IA-02, his residency and an illegal tax credit, and his long record working inside the system.
DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Take it from the Republicans who know Joe Mitchell the best: Mitchell is a political insider who works for his own self-interests, not for Iowans.”
Read for yourself:
Des Moines Register: Self-serving concern motivates attack on property tax law | Opinion
- Many of my Senate colleagues and I find Joe Mitchell’s comments to be misleading, glossing over some key historical context and other relevant facts, all while displaying his own self-interest and lack of vision for real reform.
- In 2013 the Legislature, under split party control, passed into law a substantial tax benefit where the taxable value of multi-residential properties and manufactured home parks received a 46% cut in their property taxable values. The entities lobbying for this benefit promised the Legislature that such property tax relief would translate into lower rents for Iowans. Who are those advocates, you may ask? They are effectively the predecessor to the Iowa Real Estate Developers Association, founded by Mitchell.
- Mitchell seems to lack any real policy goals other than ensuring multi-residential properties keep the same tax rate as a family home while still raising rents on Iowans, eroding the local town tax base, and further incentivizing the depopulation of rural Iowa. Add in housing tax credits and tax increment financing, and the Iowa taxpayer’s loss has been Mitchell’s gain. Additionally, in choosing to continually engage in these editorials and interviews, he exposes his real concern with reform ― that more people will actually be able to afford owning a home in our great state, affecting his own paychecks.”
- Since losing his Republican primary, he worked for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development while, apparently, simultaneously developing apartment buildings in Iowa.
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