WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Democratic candidate for Iowa attorney general Nate Willems released his first television ad, exposing Republican AG Brenna Bird for siding with corporate polluters over Iowans and failing to take real action against an ethanol plant near Shell Rock, Iowa that was caught releasing a cancer-causing toxin.

View the ad here.

–

Transcript

Charlene, Shell Rock Resident: When we found out the plant had been releasing poison into the air for years, we felt betrayed. I just remember being incredibly outraged thinking “What’s next?”

Brenna Bird refused to go after them. And then she took $100,000 from their CEO.

We’re breathing in cancer causing toxins. Am I gonna live long enough to care for my daughter?

Brenna Bird. She is not doing the job for us.

–

This comes just after Bird refused  to answer what she plans to do to address rising cancer rates in the state.

Meanwhile, at the Des Moines Register Soapbox, Willems outlined his priorities as the next AG of the state, including actually holding corporate polluters accountable and putting the people of Iowa first by combating wage theft.

Key highlights:

• “‘Over the last 18 years, I’ve represented tens of thousands of Iowans and recovered tens of millions of dollars,’ he said. ‘But the truth is, a lot of the work that I’ve been doing is work that the attorney general’s office could be doing, but does not.’”
• “Willems also accused Bird of going easy on big companies who violate air and water pollution rules…”
• “‘You might think that when it became apparent that this company had been putting cancer-causing toxins into the air, that the attorney general of Iowa would take aggressive action, would try to seek real fines to try to prevent, to try to deter, this sort of thing from happening again,’ he said. ‘But you would be wrong. The company was given a minimal fine. Brenna Bird did not seek additional penalties.’”
• “‘I’m not running for attorney general because I want to sue the government every 10 minutes, but I certainly recognize that there are times when there is a real threat to Iowans or a real harm which Iowans have suffered that it’s appropriate to take legal action…’”
• “‘But I really do want the office a bit more focused on Iowa, on Iowa law, on helping regular Iowans…’”

Last week, Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved this race from Likely Republican to Leans Republican, officially marking the AG race as more competitive.

###