Archie Brooks still has a friend

He has trouble remembering whether he's dated the executive director of the agency whose board he chaired and whose salary he set, or how often, and for how long. He turned off the city emergency radio tower during the catastrophic 1993 floods in a petulant fit. He can't remember writing memos trying to stifle the CIETC whistleblowers.

Through it all, Des Moines city councilman Archie Brooks still has kept one friend: Governor Vilsack, who will veto the new emininent domain restrictions passed overwhelmingly (Senate 43-6 and the Iowa House 89-5) by the Iowa legislature. And Archie will be cool with that, given his past:

City Councilman Archie Brooks said he will propose action within the next month to move forward with eminent domain proceedings.

He said the $450,000 offer is far more than what the city will give Hamilton. The properties are valued at $206,000, up almost $70,000 since 2001, according to county records.

"We're not asking him to do anything else than what others have already done," Brooks said. "We're not going to let this die. We've got people standing in line to buy those buildings over there."

Yes, we can't take away the right of responsible guys like Archie to sieze property from the unworthy in favor of the worthy. How can we possibly have economic development without superior intellects like Archie directing the process? And it fits perfectly with the Vilsack (and Blouin) economic development philosophy of taxing existing businesses to lure and subsidize their competitors.

More here.