Culver says transition announcements coming quickly

Gov.-elect Chet Culver has met with Gov. Tom Vilsack and says he could begin announcing key decisions as soon as Thursday.

"We will get to work immediately," Culver said Wednesday at a Statehouse news conference, only hours after beating Republican Jim Nussle to become Iowa's 40th governor. "As a part of that discussion we will in the coming days be making announcements. We could not be in a better position."

High atop Culver's to-do list will be the naming of a formal transition team, he said.

Vilsack said his staff has been planning for the shift in power for eight months, and he has set aside $100,000 to finance the transition.

"Our first step was to make sure the new administration had sufficient resources," said Vilsack. "We are pleased to take this opportunity to begin the formal transition from our administration to a new administration."

The transition will be eased somewhat because the governor's office is remaining in Democratic hands. Culver said he would follow the general path that Vilsack charted as governor, but he pledged to reach out to Republicans who found themselves in the minority after Tuesday's election.

"We are going to make it a top priority to reach out across the aisle to get the Republican leadership, the Democratic leadership and independents across the state to come together," said Culver. "We will be making announcements regularly, perhaps as soon as tomorrow on the next phase of our transition."

Wednesday's joint appearance had some symbolic importance, aimed at erasing any doubts about the relationship between Vilsack and Culver.

Culver was not Vilsack's first choice as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Vilsack quietly backed Department of Economic Development head Michael Blouin in the Democratic primary, though the governor remained officially neutral and campaigned hard for Culver after he won the Democratic nomination.

"This is no time to slow down or stop or retreat," Culver said. "It's time to build on our progress. we are excited and ready to go."

Culver was basking in the glow of a surprisingly easy win against Nussle, an eight-term congressman from Manchester. Unofficial results showed Culver with 565,305 votes, or 54 percent, while Nussle had 465,451 votes, or 44 percent.

Culver's win also had some coattails, with Democrats grabbing control of both chambers of the Legislature. While some seats were still being contested, Democrats were claiming 30 seats in the 50-member Senate and 54 seats in the 100-member House. Culver said he would meet with leaders of both parties in coming days.

"This is something I'm really looking forward to," said Culver. "I'm ready to get to work. We've got work to do and it starts right here, right now."

The transition from Vilsack to Culver will culminate in January with the new governor's inauguration. The state constitution requires that the governor be sworn in within 10 days of the Legislature convening.

Vilsack will deliver the annual Condition of the State speech to a joint session of the Legislation, which opens on Jan. 8. Culver has not announced whether he will also address the Legislature, but he must produce a budget plan by the end of January.

Editors: Mike Glover has covered politics since 1982, when he began covering the Iowa Statehouse.