The newest candidate for Iowa’s first congressional district says he’s running for office because America and our world is upside down in many ways. 52-year-old Rick Dickinson, a democrat from Sabula, officially announced his candidacy Wednesday. He says we’ve seen the “debacle” of Katrina nationally. Dickinson says no-one stood on their roof in New Orleans and said there were glad we held the line on taxes, or “gee I wish we’d spent more time on wedge issues.”
Dickinson says the U.S. needs to regain it’s high-standing in the world. He says internationally America has lost tremendous ground. He says America should be the leader of the free world and have the moral high ground on every issue, and he says we have a lot of work to do to accomplish that. Dickinson, the director of the Greater Dubuque Development, is taking a leave of absence to run. He says his experience in community development and job creation will benefit the district. Dickinson has also been the Mayor of Sabula, served on the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, and served two terms in the Iowa House from 1990 to 1994.