GOP chair endorses Gaylord

Dear Editor:

My name is James Creen, and I am the Chairman of the Lee County Republican Party of Iowa. I am writing a letter to the editor to explain my decision to allow the candidacy of Becky Gaylord for Lee County Treasurer. Many people are under the impression that I allowed Becky’s party switch to change a county office from Democrat to Republican. Running a local candidate requires substantial time, energy, and money from the local party. Changing a “D” to an “R” as the primary motivation is a no-go for my Central Committee and me.
One of Becky’s primary motivations for running for Lee County Treasurer comes from Chris Spann’s announcement that the Driver’s License Services through the County Treasurer’s Office is not profitable and should be eliminated. While I may applaud Treasurer Spann’s fiscal conservatism, eliminating our county’s Driver’s License Services could require Lee County Residents to travel up to 80 miles round-trip to obtain or renew their driver’s licenses in Burlington or Mt. Pleasant. While not profitable, Becky believes this is a service that the residents of Lee County rely on and deserve to have available in their county.
Another of Becky’s motivations comes from the fact that the County is renting two sets of Driver’s License equipment from the DOT, one for Fort Madison and one for Keokuk. When either location is closed, the equipment the taxpayers are paying for sits idle and is unused. It is also no secret that the Driver’s License Services still has a large backlog of appointments from COVID. Becky plans to reopen both Keokuk and the Fort Madison Treasurer’s Office full-time, Monday through Friday, to fully utilize the equipment we are renting and diminish the appointment backlog. I have also spoken to Becky about her ability to reopen each office without blowing up the budget. She is highly knowledgeable regarding the Treasurer’s budget and eliminating superfluous waste.
Becky and our other candidates will appear at numerous events throughout the county between now and November 8th. I don’t care if you are a Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, or No-Party; feel free to come up and introduce yourself to Becky. After speaking with her, I am confident you will come away with the knowledge that Becky Gaylord is the right candidate for Lee County Treasurer.
Sincerely,
James D. Creen
Chairman
Lee County Republican Party of Iowa