'No reason we can't have more people here': Iowa has just 4 lawmakers of color at Capitol

Barbara Rodriguez
The Des Moines Register

When Ras Smith walks the halls of the Iowa Capitol, the state representative is aware of a number: four.

Of the 150 lawmakers shaping legislation in Iowa, just four are people of color. All four are in the 100-member House. Every member of the 50-person Senate is non-Hispanic white.

The demographics are striking to Smith, who is black, because roughly 15 percent of Iowa's 3.1 million residents are people of color or white of Hispanic heritage.

“Even if we think of equal representation, at 15 percent, there should be 15 people in the House, of color, and roughly seven ... in the Senate,” Smith said. "We have four."

Smith, of Waterloo, and the three other black Democratic lawmakers at the Capitol — Reps. Ako Abdul-Samad of Des Moines, Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines, and Phyllis Thede of Bettendorf — are speaking up in the final days of the 2019 session. The small minority representation at the Iowa Capitol has come into sharper focus, they say, because the Republican-controlled Statehouse has passed legislation in recent years that could hurt communities of color.

Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines and Rep. Phyllis Thede, D-Bettendorf stand together for a photo inside the Iowa State Capitol on Monday, April 15, 2019, in Des Moines. Of the 150 lawmakers in Iowa's congress, these four are the only people of color.

"Your gut, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel good," Thede said of what she described as a "frustration" about Iowa's minority representation at the Capitol. "It just feels like you're spinning your wheels, day after day."

Both chambers have made strides on other representation: Women make up more than half of the House Democrats' caucus this year, and House Republicans have appointed several women to oversee committees. Last year, there was just one female Republican senator; this year, there are five.

A last-minute effort

In recent weeks, the four lawmakers of color have tried to address the topic with their predominately white colleagues by asking them to adopt so-called minority impact statements that would require hard data on how future bills would impact minorities on issues like economic opportunities, employment, educational opportunities and voter rights.

The concept of using data to weigh how future bills could affect minorities has precedent. Wayne Ford, a former Iowa lawmaker, successfully led the effort to enact legislation in 2008 to require that proposed criminal legislation include a review of how it would impact minorities. The legislation, a first in the country, remains in effect and has been replicated in other states.

Gaines said she wants an expanded policy "to make sure that the conversation is inclusive."

Ford, a Democrat, said he was motivated by research at the time that showed Iowa had the nation's greatest racial disparity in prison populations. Recent data shows Iowa still ranks among the worst states for locking up a disproportionate number of African Americans.

Ford applauded the latest effort.

"It's just the right thing to make sure Iowa continues to be an example," he said.

Ford's legislation was a policy bill. The expanded provision that Smith and others are trying to advance was added to a set of spending bills that will make up the roughly $7.6 billion state budget. House Republicans have shut down efforts to discuss the minority impact statement amendments during floor debate. They haven't argued on the merits of the proposal, just that it shouldn't be part of budget bills.

'I feel like I don't fit in here'

Smith, 31, feels legislation that's moved through Iowa's chambers — laws that reduced the power of unions in the state, revamped workers' compensation rules and added identification requirements to vote — may be disproportionately hurting people of color. He was also disappointed that Republican senators didn't pass a bill this year to restore voting rights for felons once they've completed their sentences, a measure that nearly unanimously passed the House earlier in the session.

"I speak for myself: Sometimes, I feel like I don't fit in here," he said. "If I can't request a minority impact statement on most bills, then what does that say? ... What are you telling me when you vote no on that?"

Smith said there's behind-the-scenes communication between lawmakers about issues like race. On the same day one of the minority impact statement amendments failed, he and Abdul-Samad spoke to a group of lawmakers as part of a weekly legislative luncheon. The topic: being a black man in America.

Rep. Andy McKean, R-Anamosa, attended the luncheon and later voted to support debate for the amendment.

"I found it very compelling," McKean said. "As a white person, it's impossible for me to fully comprehend (their) experiences ... they deserved the opportunity to bring (the amendment) forth."

Smith considered McKean's vote a small victory: "That's what we need more of."

An unofficial caucus

Low minority representation at the Statehouse isn't unique to Iowa, according to a 2015 joint study by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Pew Charitable Trusts that showed women and minorities remain underrepresented at state Capitols.

That includes Latino representation. There are currently no Latino lawmakers at the Iowa Capitol and there never have been, according to Rob Barron, co-founder of the Latino Political Network, which recruits Latino people to seek office in Iowa.

Barron said if you add up all local-level positions, including school board members and county supervisors, there are more than 7,000 elected officeholders in Iowa. Of those 7,000, just more than 20 are Latino officeholders, so there's a limited pipeline of candidates for future Statehouse roles.

“We have a long way to go to get my community adequately represented," he said.

The lack of minority representation at the Iowa Statehouse has forced its four black lawmakers to form an unofficial caucus. There are plans to take more action moving forward. According to Smith, that could mean asking their House Democratic colleagues to involve them more in crafting policy proposals.

Thede said she's not surprised the group's effort on a minority impact statement failed, in part, because it came together late in the session. She wants to try again next year, but through a policy bill that can't get tossed on a technicality.

She hopes the conversation is an impetus for both major parties to recruit more people of color to run for the Legislature.

"There are people of color in every community," Thede said. "There's no reason we can't have more people here."

Barbara Rodriguez covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 646-385-1212.