Ray's Raiders

DO YOU HAVE THE PROPOSITION 13 BLUES? COME TO IOWA, WHERE WE BALANCE OUR BUDGET, CONTROL OUR TAXES AND STILL BELIEVE IN SPENDING THE MONEY NECESSARY TO PROVIDE THE VERY BEST.

So began a classified ad that was placed in four California newspapers early this month by Victor Preisser, commissioner of social services in Iowa. He wanted to hire experienced guards and counselors for the state's prisons and figured that he might find them in California, where many public employees fear they may lose their jobs in the wake of property tax cuts required by passage of Proposition 13.

Preisser was astounded by the results. Within a few days, 225 Californians had phoned to ask about the jobs. A team of lowans, dubbed "Ray's Raiders" after Republican Governor Robert Ray, flew to San Francisco to interview applicants and selected 70 finalists; most of them have college degrees and many years of experience working in California's prisons. Says Preisser: "We're getting some of their best people, people they've worked hard to train." Next week 15 of the new employees will start their jobs in Iowa. The rest of the openings will be filled later.

So successful were Ray's Raiders that Preisser decided to advertise in California again, this time for physicians, psychiatrists and other mental health specialists. There were a dozen applicants, and six of them are expected to be hired shortly. Will there be more raids on California? "Why not?" says David Oman an assistant to the Governor. Why not indeed.

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