Republican Waylon Brown stalled eminent domain limits
Former Republican state Sen. Waylon Brown of St. Ansgar has accepted a policy adviser position at a nonprofit advocating for renewable energy projects and infrastructure in the Midwest.
Brown announced his sudden resignation from the Iowa Senate in a news release last week.
Brown will be working for the Clean Grid Alliance, a St. Paul, Minn.-based nonprofit focused on advancing renewable energy across the Midwest. The nonprofit does advocacy work and education intended to support the development of wind and solar power as well as storage facilities to house the energy those facilities create.
“I am thrilled to continue serving communities across the Midwest in this new role with CGA,” Brown said in a new release announcing his new position. “In order for rural communities to flourish, we must address the issue of grid stability and energy independence. CGA is known for being thoughtful and effective, and I look forward to joining the team.”
Brown did not give a reason for his resignation from the Senate when it was announced last week.
“I will forever be grateful to the people of my district who entrusted me to represent them in the Iowa State Capitol,“ he said in the news release. ”I’m thankful for my wife, Julie, and our two kids, who have supported me throughout my tenure as state senator.“
Brown has served in the Iowa Senate since defeating incumbent Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm in 2016. He represented Mitchell, Worth and Cerro Gordo counties as well as portions of Floyd County.
According to state law, Iowa Republicans must now call a special convention where delegates from District 30 can select a new nominee to take Brown’s place on the November ballot.
This career move dovetails with Brown’s record of stalling pieces of legislation meant to limit the use of eminent domain during his time as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
A recent ruling by the Iowa Utilities Board allows Summit Carbon Solutions to use eminent domain to gain easements on private property to build a carbon capture pipeline in Iowa. The ruling could open the way for similar renewable energy projects.
Brown received a $2,000 campaign donation from the Iowa Corn Growers Association during the 2020 election cycle. The association backed Summit’s proposed pipeline, which will transport and bury the C02 emitted by ethanol plants, dramatically reducing the plants’ carbon footprint and opening new markets for the fuel.
Half of Iowa’s corn crop goes into the making of ethanol.
Brown wrote an April 2023 guest column for the Des Moines Register calling on farmers to pivot toward renewable resources to diversify their portfolios, arguing sustainable energy could bring jobs and prosperity to rural Iowa.
