Bus Tours Bring Dueling Messages to Cedar Falls Ahead of Judge Retention Vote

Two dueling bus tours that rolled into the Cedar Valley agreed on one thing Tuesday; voters should remember to flip over their ballots on Election Day.

That's because the back of the ballot is where judges are up for retention. It's a topic that is often ignored by voters, but this year two campaigns are pushing to change that.

The controversy centers on the unanimous 2009 Iowa Supreme Court Varnum decision, which legalized same-sex marriage in the state. In 2010, voters kicked three of the seven responsible Supreme Court judges off the court. Now another judge, David Wiggins, is on the ballot.

Conservative Christian group The Family Leader has been touring the state, along with a coalition of similarly-minded groups, calling for the public to vote "no" on Wiggins' retention. In response, the Iowa Bar Association has also been touring, calling for a "yes" vote.

The "No Wiggins" tour was at the Pipac Center in Cedar Falls Monday, while the "Yes Judges" tour stopped at the Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo. About 40 supporters attended each Cedar Valley tour stop.

The first two speakers for the "No Wiggins" tour, Kim Lehman of Rick Santorum's Patriot Voices and Iowa Republican Commiteewoman Tamara Scott, did not mention same-sex marriage.

Instead, they said the Varnum decision overstepped judicial bounds. Scott also mentioned Wiggins' approval rating by his peers, which the Iowa Bar Association surveyed at 63 percent. She said that was too low.

"It's not all about marriage," Bob Vander Plaats of the The Family Leader said, saying the separation of powers was in jeopardy. "If they will redefine the institution of marriage, they won't blink an eye when they take away your private property. They won't blink an eye when they take away your religious freedom. When they tell you how to educate your kids. When they take away your second amendment rights."

Rev. Maureen Doherty, pastor at Trinity Episcopal Parish in Waterloo and director at New City Ministries, stood at the back of the "No Wiggins" stop with her spouse Joan Farstad and about 20 other counter-protestors holding signs.

"Two years ago there were three other faces on that bus. This is a single issue bus," she said. "To say this bus is here for any other reason except the issue of gay marriage is really not true."