The Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council is standing by its endorsement of former State Senator Tony Bisignano in the Democratic primary to represent Iowa Senate district 17. Bisignano is one of three Democrats running for the seat State Senator Jack Hatch is vacating in order to run for governor. Bisignano was recently arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit. Commenting on that arrest, Cityview’s Civic Skinny columnist noted that supporters of Ned Chiodo “think Bisignano should drop out.” Both Chiodo and Bisignano have a political base on the south side of Des Moines. The third candidate, Nathan Blake, lives in the Sherman Hill neighborhood near downtown.

The latest edition of Cityview contains a letter to the editor by Earl Agan Jr., president of the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council. He explains why his group “reaffirmed” its support for Bisignano last week. I’ve posted excerpts from Agan’s letter after the jump.

Any comments about the race in Iowa Senate district 17 are welcome in this thread. The winner of the Democratic primary is almost certain to succeed Hatch in the Senate. As of October 2013, Senate district 17 contained 16,943 registered Democrats, 7,179 Republicans, and 11,256 no-party voters.

Excerpt from Earl Agan Jr.’s letter to the editor in the October 16 edition of the Des Moines-based weekly Cityview:

I’m the president of the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council and a lifelong south-sider. My organization was the first group to endorse Bisignano, and we reaffirmed that support last week. I haven’t seen any fallout from the people who have been raising money for him or who have volunteered to help his campaign.

The reasons are pretty simple. Bisignano fought for us when he was in the legislature. He didn’t just cast votes; he stood shoulder to shoulder with working people. He wasn’t just a labor legislator. He was a leader who wasn’t afraid to take a stand on controversial issues. […]

Nathan Blake is a nice guy, and I’m sure he’d be a reliable vote, but with Bisignano we’d have a senator who would have an impact on policy before he took office.

You referred to Ned Chiodo as a “golf course operator.” That’s like referring to Warren Buffet as a stockbroker. Chiodo is THE golf course operator in Des Moines. He was a good legislator, but when he left the legislature, he made a lot of money representing business and financial interests who didn’t necessarily care about the best interests of the people I represent.

Considering that the employees of the municipal golf course Chiodo controls lost their union contracts when he took over and when I attended an event at Blank last year and saw he was using a nonunion contractor on a building, it is unlikely that Ned Chiodo will get much labor support.