Libertarian Marco Battaglia’s race for Des Moines City Council received coverage in the Des Moines Register on June 10:
A former Libertarian candidate for Iowa attorney general will now challenge for a seat on the Des Moines City Council this fall.
Marco Battaglia, who lost his bid last fall to unseat longtime Attorney General Tom Miller, will run for an at-large seat on the seven-member panel, a news release announced Sunday night.
He’s running to replace Councilman Chris Coleman, who hasn’t officially announced that he’ll run for re-election yet.
In the news release, Battaglia said he wants to focus on eliminating homelessness, limiting the negative effects of drug use and improving the lives of Des Moines residents with disabilities.
On his campaign website, Battaglia says he’d also run to legalize marijuana, advertising “Legalize Des Moines” T-shirts.
He spoke before the council on homelessness on June 3, saying he’s seen homeless teens and veterans out on the same block.
“I think what I really want the focus to be on is let’s look at what other cities are doing better,” he said. “I think I would like to see Des Moines lead the way (on) reducing homelessness.”
More than 262,000 people voted for Battaglia to become attorney general last year, but he fell well behind Miller, who earned more than 880,000 votes.
