A semi-retired Cedar Rapids businessman is the vice presidential nominee of the New Independent Party. It’s one of the so-called “third parties” with candidates on Iowa’s 2016 General Election ballot.
Sixty-year-old Jay Stolba says the two-party system isn’t working. “What we need is to get more people with independent views and that are willing to compromise in Washington and, for that matter, at the state level,” Stolba says.
The New Independent Party’s platform offers what Stolba describes as a “coherent plan” to dramatically transform the federal government.
“Either eliminate or redirect over a trillion dollars by eliminating programs within the government that have never produced,” Stolba says. “The problem with that is every congressional district has a stake in keeping these programs alive if it brings money to their state and we need to start getting some of those eliminated and direct the money toward where we need it. We also need a lot less directed towards the military. We’re supplying the military for the world and I really don’t think we need to be doing that.”
The gridlock and stalemate in Washington are created by the two-party system, according to Stolba.
“The problem is we’re down to two choices and quite honestly neither one’s very good,” Stolba says. “It’s very polarizing and there’s no compromise left in government anymore and I think if you introduce more people that are willing to compromise into the system, rather than creating a closed system where there’s this animosity and malice, we’d have a much better government for the people.”
Stolba says the gerrymandering of congressional districts needs to end and the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision needs to be overturned so campaign contribution limits can be enforced.
“What’s happening now is we’ve got a system that just absolutely does not work in Washington,” Stolba says. “The only thing that works is money.”
Stolba was drafted to be the vice presidential running mate of his long-time friend Lynn Kahn, the New Independent Party’s presidential nominee.
“She’s been in government for 30-plus years,” he Stolba says. “She worked with the FAA as a psychologist. She worked on reinventing government with Al Gore.”
Stolba says his current business interests are in real estate. In 2009 he sold Iowa Discount Shippers after owning and operating the company for 17 years.