Commentary: The Sand trap: Will Rob Sand become the next Chet Culver?

Gov.-elect Rob Sand may have just been handed the keys to Terrace Hill in a situation reminiscent of the last Democrat to hold the office, the one-termer Chet Culver. During the Great Recession, Culver faced massive budget shortfalls, rising unemployment and declining revenues. He made deep spending cuts that proved unpopular and became a political liability in his unsuccessful 2010 re-election campaign. Sand faces his own financial peril. He inherits the consequences of years of deliberate tax reductions that have substantially reduced state revenue and limited the money available for government services. With Republicans controlling both chambers of the Legislature, Sand will have to be a world-class negotiator if he’s going to keep his promises to help struggling Iowans. In October 2009, after state revenue estimates plunged, Culver ordered a 10% across-the-board reduction in covered state appropriations to keep the budget balanced. The cuts totaled about $564 million.

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