Editor:
On May 11, after speaking against the appointment of James Barry as Muscatine County Attorney, I saw that Mr. Barry was quickly sworn in. He announced his intention to run for the office in November and then praised the agreement to pay Alan Ostergren $4,000 per month till January. If as Mr. Mather claimed, Barry is a great county attorney, why does he need six months of paid advice? Why not just use the free services of the Attorney General? Why would someone just appointed to this office without an apparent political base immediately announce an election campaign? Why proceed over the objection of the County Bar Association? Why not allow meaningful public investigation and comment in the appointment process?
The selection process was deeply flawed. The only advertisement was buried in the legal notices of the local papers with the bids and other legal documents. Neither the Muscatine County Bar Association nor State Bar Association were contacted to advertise the position. Only one person applied. Would a legitimate selection process produce this result? There are four possible explanations for such a process: incompetence, laziness, corruption or a combination of the above.
Think about it. Was this a real selection process or a political appointment process designed to prevent any meaningful competition for the position? Was the goal getting a compliant county attorney who is indebted to the selection committee and their backers? Given that Mr. Ostergren was a major influence behind the appointment did you really expect that Mr. Barry would annul the consulting agreement? One county attorney for the price of two. What’s behind this? Muscatine voters should seek the answers to these questions.
Since announcing my candidacy, I’ve challenged our county’s leadership over their misrepresentations on slag, the mental health debacle, prejudice in the jail administration and now the decision to appoint Mr. Barry in a process that has earned Muscatine County’s government ridicule across the country. I’m asking for your vote in the Democratic Primary so I can continue to work for open, effective and honest county government through the November election and then as a county supervisor.
Henry Marquard, Muscatine
Candidate for Muscatine
County Supervisor District 4