Rees stops in Knoxville

Steve Woodhouse

Knoxville — Retired West Des Moines architect Mark Rees has spent years yelling at the television, angry about what is going on in Washington, D.C. One day, his wife, Bethany, suggested he do something about it. Following her advice, Rees is on the campaign trail, hoping to win the Republican nomination of Iowa’s Third District seat in the US House of Representatives.

Rees has no political background. He has volunteered for Little League, Americorps and the Iowa Chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. His 25-year professional career saw him involved in numerous construction projects, including Methodist and Mercy hospitals in Des Moines.

He was invited to take part in a Benton County GOP candidate forum. The people at the forum were impressed with his ability to genuinely answer questions, and not just give them sound bites. He was encouraged to take his candidacy to the next level and on Dec. 14, 2009, he officially announced his candidacy.

“I’ve been scrambling ever since,” he said. By that time, there were already other Republicans seeking the nomination. Rees joined a field that includes Dave Funk, Pat Bertroche, Brad Zaun and Jim Gibbons.

Rees says he is focused on the general election, not the primary. He believes that with so many candidates seeking the nomination, no one will receive the required 35 percent of the votes to be placed on the general election ballot. If that happens, a convention will be held.

“The only reason I’m doing this is I’m willing to step forward,” Rees said. His goal is to get more Independents and moderates to take part. He believes these people are the “silent majority” in politics. Recruiting these independents to stand with him has been the top priority of his wife and campaign manager. Rees says there is great interest in his campaign from people in their twenties.

“There’s a lot of interest in the younger group,” he said. “I need to get people to come out.”

Rees believes he is the only Republican candidate who can unseat incumbent Leonard Boswell. He realizes he has to get through the primary election first.

Encouraged by the recent vote in Massachussetts, in which voters selected Republican Scott Brown to fill the seat vacated by the death of Ed Kennedy, Rees believes there is an anti-incumbent mood in the country right now. Reluctant to say much about Boswell, Rees mentioned that he believes Boswell does not represent the people of the Third District.

“I think Leonard Boswell is a very sincere man,” Rees said. “(Boswell’s) got very little to do with my reasons for running.”

He does not want to belittle the contributions Boswell has made, but says Boswell does not seem to develop enough legislation of his own. Rees says Boswell is “not doing enough for Iowans.”

Rees’ philosophy on legislation is that what is good for one’s district may not be good for the country, and what is good for the country may not always be good for one’s district. This includes “pork barrel” spending for projects in one’s district to make the lawmaker look good.

Rees supports term limits. The Founding Fathers, according to Rees, did not intend for Congressional service to be a lifetime position.

He believes government, in tough economic times, should share in them. He said it is rare to find discussions about cutting government workers on the federal level or cuts to things such as travel. Simple things, such as eliminating nonessential travel, can save money. He believes suggestions like these are more practical than suggesting the elimination of departments, such as the Department of Education or Department of Energy.

“Why even propose it?” Rees said.

One of Rees’ proposals is a veterans’ program to help soldiers returning from war transition back into life in America. He wants them to have jobs to give them a greater sense of self-worth to combat suicide and chemical dependency. He believes the “machine” is already in place with the VA, it just needs to get to work.

Like most other Republicans, Rees’ suggestions for health care reform include tort reform, interstate commerce and eliminating fraud and abuse in Medicare. He believes most Americans think government involvement in health care does not improve access or costs. To make reimbursements to doctors more fair, Rees proposes simplifying the payment code and using averages to base them on.

Rees realizes running a campaign will take a great deal of money. When asked about the recent Supreme Court decision, which enables corporations the potential to give unlimited amounts of money to campaigns, Rees takes a different stand.

“I don’t think anyone will benefit from it,” Rees said. “I think it will hurt the process.” Most Republicans agree with the decision, saying it allows greater freedom of speech. But to Rees, the First Amendment was never intended to allow the few to drown out the voices of the many.

“I don’t support it,” he said.

Rees believes one person can make a difference. He says many in Washington have lost sight of what they were sent there to do. When he makes a decision, he will ask, “Have I made things better or worse?” He encourages everyone to take part in this year’s political process and not sit on the sideline.

For more information on Rees, visit markrees4congress.com.

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