When we decided to embark on a petition drive to secure a special election on approving a casino in Linn County, we knew it would be a huge project trying to obtain the required 11,872 signatures.

The very supportive labor unions came forward and promised to work hard and committed to well over half that amount in signatures. I thought that sounded admirable, but lofty, and probably impossible to reach, so as a campaign adviser I thought we should form a contingency in case they didn’t meet this goal. We wouldn’t have wanted to make them feel badly if they fell short, so we all got to work on our own signature drives and hoped for the best.

Well, not only did the unions meet their objective, they exceeded their goals, and were extraordinary partners in the project. In a record amount of time, we came together and exceeded our required goal by nearly 5,000 signatures in just seven weeks of hard work.

Throughout this exercise, we were surrounded by dedicated work horses, and without the help of the wonderful men and women of our labor force in Linn County, we never would have been able to seek this special election. We say a special thank you to all who made this possible and we look forward to educating voters and bringing about a successful yes vote on March 5.

Marcia Rogers

Vote Yes Linn County

Cedar Rapids