MYTH: Anti-municipal groups have the best interests of Iowans in mind.

FACT: These groups are supported by private communications companies who want to preserve their monopolies.

In the past several weeks, new groups with names like “Project Taxpayer Protection Committee” and “Citizens for Common Sense Solutions” have appeared on the Iowa landscape. Their mission: to stop the formation of new municipal communications utilities in Iowa. To accomplish this mission, they have spent untold thousands of dollars mailing glossy ad pieces, urging citizens to vote NO.

When considering the message of these groups, we urge citizens to ask the following questions.
1. Where is the money coming from to pay for these ads? Is it my friends and neighbors, or someone with an ulterior motive?
2. Are these groups really concerned about my community, or do they serve the mega-communications companies that don’t want competition?
3. Have these groups demonstrated that they have the community’s interests at heart by supporting other community issues or projects?
4. What is their motive to suddenly take an interest in how you and your town decide to invest your money?

Like in the Wizard of Oz, take a look behind the curtain to see who’s really pulling the levers and sending up smoke. You’ll find it’s not your friends and neighbors. It’s not the people you’ll see at the Friday night football game, Saturday at the grocery store, or Sunday in church. Instead, you’ll find it’s the same people who have fought every step of the way to try to limit the ability of municipal utilities to operate in Iowa.

Iowa’s rich history has taught us one lesson: neighbors and townsfolk come together for the greater good of their community. Whether it was rebuilding a barn after a storm or harvesting a sick neighbor’s crop, Iowans intuitively know they must fend for themselves, their kit and kin and their own community. With a healthily dose of skepticism toward outside influence, Iowan’s can separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to learning the facts making an informed decision.