Joe Gatto, the longest tenured Des Moines City Council member, has put in the work to understand how to help residents the most. That commitment and acquired wisdom makes him an outstanding candidate to make an impact as a Polk County supervisor.
His opponent in the June 2 Democratic primary for a seat representing a southeastern portion of the county is Heather Jones-Brown, who works in administration at Grinnell College. Her involvement in the community is commendable, and during an interview with the Register she demonstrated a solid grasp of challenges and opportunities confronting county government. One good idea she shared is starting more outreach to entities that could benefit from grants distributed from Prairie Meadows gambling revenue.
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But Gatto has an exceptionally strong pitch for the nomination. He would bring a clarity and energy that Polk County needs. In an interview, he talked about how the slow response to a medical emergency at Baratta’s, the restaurant he owns and operates, helped prompt him to run for City Council, where he was able to secure temporary and then permanent apparatus changes to improve response. That came at the same time he was, as happens for many newly elected officials, drinking from a proverbial firehose to understand the ins and outs of the role.
Fire and EMS coverage has been a constant and at times combative priority throughout Gatto’s 13 years with the city. He has repeatedly insisted that his south-side constituents get the same consideration for city programming and services as those in other wards. In a county district that includes part of Des Moines but also Pleasant Hill, Runnells, and rural areas, Gatto should refuse to accept second-best for any of them.
Gatto’s campaign platform emphasizes public investment in housing, water quality and public safety. He noted the work that went into bringing the Joppa tiny-home village, intended to help homeless residents, into his city ward. When something needs to get done, he said, “I’ve usually been able to pull a coalition together.”
Supervisor Mark Holm has been criticized for continuing his full-time job at the Iowa Department of Transportation while also collecting a full-time salary as a supervisor. Gatto said he would step back further from Baratta’s if elected; Jones-Brown also said she would leave her current job if elected. Gatto added that, while Holm’s constituents can decide in 2028 if they’re comfortable with the arrangement, his view is that “it’s not fair to you and me as taxpayers.”
Gatto is the right choice to help bring new ideas, unyielding focus on constituents, and greater stability to the Board of Supervisors.
Lucas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register’s editorial board
Why we write election endorsements
The Register’s editorials represent the consensus of our four-person editorial board. The idea is that putting forth a collective opinion on issues that are important to Iowans is valuable for focusing attention on those issues and provoking conversation. Endorsements do not dictate to Iowans how they should vote, or aim to predict the outcome.
Reporters not involved
Because editorials go out in the Register’s name, that can create a reasonable, but mistaken, impression that the board is speaking not just for the editorial board but also for the dozens of reporters, editors, photojournalists and digital producers who create the news report. That’s not how it works. Of the members of the editorial board, only executive editor Rachel Stassen-Berger has any involvement with directing news coverage, and the board’s positions do not influence the decisions Stassen-Berger and other editors and reporters in the newsroom make about what or whom to cover or how.
Who is on the Register editorial board?
The board members along with Stassen-Berger are Richard Doak and Rox Laird, both Register retirees and veteran editorial writers who volunteer their time to our discussions, and myself, Lucas Grundmeier, the opinion editor. I am in the early stages of seeking new volunteer participants for the editorial board, which in the past has included at least five and often several more voices. Email lgrundme@dmreg.com if you’d like to know more.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Joe Gatto backs up his words with action and success | Opinion
Reporting by The Register’s editorial, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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