Correction appended

On a typical day this political season, Cande Iveson can be seen walking residential streets in the 23rd House District in a door-to-door campaign.

CANDE IVESON 205 E. Ridgely Road ● Personal: 50. Married to Todd Iveson; they have two children, Christopher, 17, and Jessica, 14. ● Education: Bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Webster University; master’s degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis. ● Occupation: Founder of Policy Works LLC, which works with not-for-profits to build public policies. Formerly director of strategic initiatives for Citizens for Missouri’s Children. ● Community activities: Reading to Rover Program; Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia; Columbia Chamber of Commerce; former board member of First Chance for Children, International Families (St. Louis).

It’s a new experience for the Democratic contender. And no matter where she goes, Iveson often finds a dog frantically welcoming her to a home. They are always excited, she says, because they can detect the scent of her own two Labrador retrievers.

"Dogs can smell anything," she said.

Iveson faces Stephen Webber in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary that will decide who represents the Columbia legislative district for two years. No Republican has filed in the contest.

Iveson has worked in the business world and lobbied for children’s health-care issues for most of her adult life. But she hopes to shift from working behind the scenes at the Capitol to the Missouri House, which she says is on track to becoming more chaotic and less effective with a looming round of term limits.

"I don’t consider myself a politician," Iveson said. "But I am an advocate who knows the political process."

Iveson runs a Columbia-based business, Policy Works LLC, which helps not-for-profits "build their advocacy capacity." She has also worked for years in Jefferson City with Citizens for Missouri’s Children, pushing for children’s rights and well-being.

Teresa Maledy, an executive at Commerce Bank, is a friend and donor to the Iveson effort. She said Iveson has what it takes to become an effective advocate for the district.

"I think that she has great life experience, practical experience that she would be able to bring to the job," Maledy said. "I think that she has a great deal of integrity and good communication skills that she would be able to put to work to help all of us."

Iveson was at the forefront of a legislative fight in 2003 over the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. Soon after a committee in the GOP-controlled House sought to curtail spending on the program, Iveson joined Gov. Bob Holden in denouncing the cuts as "morally wrong." Lawmakers scuttled the move.

Health care is Iveson’s most apparent campaign themes. If elected, she said, she would work to restore eligibility to individuals cut from the state’s Medicaid program in 2005. She also said she wants to bolster the state’s early childhood education programs.

Iveson contends the state faces budget issues in coming years because of a weakening economy and that Democrats will make gains in the Missouri House. She believes her experience would be good to have in that mix.

Yet she says the most worrisome aspect on the horizon is 2010, when term limits will force dozens of lawmakers from office.

"I was there when that happened the last time, and it was just horrible, just horrible," Iveson said. "People came in, they didn’t know the process, they didn’t know how to run committee hearings. And that was the year that the House ended up block-granting the budget. They just said, ‘We can’t figure it out. You departments do whatever you did.’"

Sharon Feltman, former staff member of the Missouri Association of Social Welfare, said Iveson knows the legislative process and will get things done. Feltman also praised what she called Iveson’s "positive work ethic" and her ability to "work for change that I believe in."

Iveson has said numerous times she differs very slightly with Webber on the issues. At a debate earlier this year, both candidates said they oppose efforts to require voters to show photo identification at the polls; both expressed disapproval of an ethanol mandate for all gasoline sold in the state; both supported a moratorium on the death penalty; and both opposed a move to remove limits on political campaign contributions.

But Iveson believes she has expertise to pursue long-term policy challenges in the state’s budget. She said she is willing to work behind the scenes as a member of the House Budget Committee and the House Appropriations Committee on Health, Mental Health and Social Services.

Feltman agrees, saying she thinks Iveson will be able to maneuver through legislative waters to get positive results.

"She has been a strong, strong advocate for services and for the rights of children," Feltman said. "And I think she has a lot of experience also as a lobbyist - and one of those low-paid, working-for-a-just-cause kind of lobbyist - who knows how the process works in Jefferson City."

This page has been revised to reflect the following correction:

SECOND THOUGHTS: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A profile yesterday of Cande Iveson, a candidate 23rd House District race, should have said that Sharon Feltman was a former staff member, not executive director, of the Missouri Association of Social Welfare

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