House Journal: Page 1908: Thursday, April 29, 1999

their farewell speech one of the most common themes that are in those speeches are 

that I never would have believed I would have served this long in the legislature. And I 
can tell you I never would have believed I would have served thirteen years, one third 
of my life here in the Iowa legislature, let alone be Speaker of the House for five years. 
If someone would have asked me at the beginning of this session that this would be my 
last, I wouldn't have believed them either. But I guess that's what makes life so 
interesting because we really never know what the good Lord has in store for us.
The Capitol is an awesome place to work but what really makes it special is the 
people, the representatives, and all the supporting folks that help us do our job. And on 
many occasions we refer to each other as family and so when you say good bye to 
family, sometimes you get a little emotional, so bear with me if I do.
First, to you Representative Schrader and the Democratic caucus. We've had some 
successes over the years. Joint successes and victories. We've also had some battles. 
We've had some battles on the floor of the House. We've had some battles out on the 
campaign trail. Some of those campaigns we threw everything but the kitchen sink and 
the telephone at you. Indeed with you, Representative Holveck, we did try to throw a 
telephone at you. But you won. You won, you deserve to be here and for that I respect 
you for being willing to put your name on the ballot and go through what you have to 
go through to get elected to serve in here. And you haven't been shy over the years of 
reigning in the majority. You deserve a voice here in the House and you deserve to be 
heard. If I could challenge you at all, it would be to continue to do that, continue to hold 
the majority's feet through the fire or whatever they're doing or not doing. The process 
is important. And it's great to live in a state where it's healthy, competitive two-party 
system. Representative Schrader always at the beginning of the session in some of 
these speeches that we give at groups and organizations, he gives a baseball analogy as 
he says he's been in the minority with a Republican governor, in the majority with a 
Republican governor, and the minority with a Democratic governor. All he has left is to 
be in the majority with a Democratic governor. And he talks about the baseball analogy 
of hitting through the cycle.
Dave I don't know if you will ever hit through the cycle, but going three for four is 
pretty good. You've been a great friend, a great colleague, and a great ally. I'm going to 
miss you, and I respect you and every one of your caucus members. Thank you for the 
privilege of serving with you and being your Speaker.
For my Republican colleagues, you couldn't ask for a greater group of people to 
work with and share my last thirteen years with. I'll miss everyone of you. If I could 
give you some parting advice, it would be that everything has a life cycle, individuals, 
plants, animals, even political majorities. The key is to extend that life cycle. And I 
think there's three things you need to concentrate on if you want to do that. One is 
unity. And that's easier said than done. Trying to keep everybody together going in the 
same direction, in the different parts of the state we all represent and different 
districts, it's tough. Real tough to be united. But you know what you get from being 
united? You get strength. And strength is pretty important. Two, you need to have 
ideas. That's what the people of Iowa want. They just want people that are going to 
come to Des Moines, tell them what they're going to do for them, what they will 
accomplish, and work toward those goals and achievements. And when you generate 
those ideas, that's what shows leadership. And that's what the people want. And the 
third and final piece, is you've got to be willing sometimes to walk on some hot coals. 
You've got to be willing to go through the fire every once in awhile. And that's tough. 

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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