Candidate Comparison

Mental health, Taxes, Education will be my top three priorities in the Iowa House. Everyone deserves access to quality mental healthcare without discrimination. We need to advocate for mental health awareness, accessibility, education, and eliminate the stigma behind mental health and seeking treatment. We should be looking at policy solutions in Des Moines to increase the hospital beds per capita across the state. I am also committed to passing legislation to increase first responders’ access mental healthcare. With a family of 7, the inflation has strained our family, as it as with most. The increasing costs of gas, groceries, and everyday necessities has caused hardship and pain for Iowa families. I will work with to lower taxes, cut costs, and improve the economy. I’m committed to ensuring that every child has the education best for them. Whether public or private, or if a student plans to attend a four-year university, trade school, enlist, or enter the workforce– it’s our job to ensure each student has what they need to succeed in their futures.

The economy - Iowans are working harder for less. Housing / Rent and Groceries have gone up and while the prices are leveling pricing creates additional stresses when nearly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. We must raise the minimum wage to ensure people can earn enough to live. We should also provide tax credits and incentives to make child care affordable. We must keep our workforce, compete with other states in terms of wages and opportunities and end the culture war that drives our workforce away. Education - We must end the attacks on our public education system. Iowa once had the best education system in America. We need to backfill our schools from a decade of neglect. Ensure that all teachers and paraeducators earn a living wage. Restore the Area Education Agencies and end the voucher program. Vouchers are an unaccountable boondoggle that sees more tax dollars spent to educate fewer students. Reproductive / Medical Freedom - Our state is more concerned with micromanaging personal decisions than making Iowa a great place to live, work, and play. We need to enshrine Roe V Wade into Iowa law and work toward putting it to a referendum to enshrine in the Iowa Constitution.

It is imperative that we allocate additional funds to the state budget to support first responders, as numerous departments are utilizing outdated equipment due to financial constraints. Furthermore, augmenting the budget for police and sheriff's departments is crucial for enhancing training on handling mental health crises and supporting vital K-9 programs. Notably, Iowa's police K-9 units rely on donor funding, rather than local or state allocations, despite being invaluable assets to law enforcement and our communities.

Education - The state's education budget has not kept up with inflation. DNR - Iowa has the worst water quality in the nation. Our natural resources - Iowas lakes and wetlands are our natural treasures and must be protected against industrial pollution.

In light of the considerable risks posed by distracted driving, Iowa should establish legislation to ban handheld device usage. The dire consequences of texting while driving, including property damage and loss of life, necessitate this measure to safeguard Iowa's roads and preserve human life.

No. I do not see a meaningful distinction between a mobile device and an onboard dash console used in most modern vehicles. I believe we can achieve safer roads by enforcement of our distracted driver laws.

We should explore legislation that effectively safeguards our most vulnerable populations. We can also incentivize careers in essential industries, like healthcare, to address staffing concerns.

Expand the senior home trust fund and improve access to home health care to do what we can to keep seniors in their homes as much as possible before having to go to a care facility. The state should ensure that nursing home inspections are carried out regularly and on time and, enforce regulations and levying fines to prevent abuses. We can also promote deferable and forgivable loans for those who go into the medical field and stay in Iowa.

I firmly believe that additional funding for screening and prevention is crucial, as it enhances the chances of effective treatment and saves lives. Having experienced the loss of friends to cancer, I've seen the immense suffering. Lawmakers must take action to make a difference.

Yes - with cancer rates rising it is to our benefit to find out why and remediation policies to lower cancer rates.

The primary strategy for addressing water pollution is preventative measures. This involves excluding excess sediment, nutrients, bacteria, and other pollutants from our water sources. Given that agricultural areas are the main contributors to this issue, adopting conservation practices is crucial. Key conservation methods include wetlands, ponds, terraces, and buffers, all of which mitigate pollutant levels reaching lakes and streams.

Nitrate remediation is first and foremost to prevent runoff. Creating buffer zones between our rivers and streams and the sources of nitrates. We must also fund monitoring sites to identify nitrate sources to know where to apply our efforts. Additionally, we should empower county and city governments to be able to adopt conservation means within their jurisdiction and take action within their respective watersheds.

To address the mental health crisis, legislators must take a multiprong approach, including repealing the certificate of need to increase access to mental health facilities, establishing state facilities to provide additional bed space for patients, and implementing prevention measures to combat the rising rate of veteran and first responder suicide, as well as expanding school-based mental healthcare access for children.

We need to take a holistic approach to mental health. Iowa ranks near the bottom when it comes to accessing mental health care. Improving access means having more doctors and beds available for psychiatric and psychological care. We can offer deferrable, forgivable student loans for those who stay and practice care in Iowa. I also support funding for mental health care liaisons with our police departments. This is a program that the City of Hiawatha and Cedar Rapids have implemented to great success. It can work statewide because people in crisis need access to resources and keep people out of jail. We also need our government to work to improve the quality of life for Iowans. Providing protections for workers to improve safety in dangerous and construction jobs and ensuring they have time away from the job to rest and recharge will prevent accidents and improve mental health. Improving child care as well as maternal healthcare will improve mental health outcomes around the state. Lastly, stop the hyperpartisanship in Des Moines that intentionally targets and demonizes Iowans to score political points.

The Iowa courts ruled that the Heartbeat Bill may take effect this past summer. My focus is on supporting both IVF and adoption access. Moreover, I will work to promote accessible contraceptives and sex education to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

We must pass laws protecting access to contraception and in vitro fertilization under Iowa Law. Enshrining Roe v. Wade and bodily autonomy in the Iowa Constitution ensure this access.

I would read and analyze legislation and its intended and unintended effects before making any decisions on how to vote on the bill. With any legislation addressing abortion, I would only support policies that have reasonable exceptions, like those for the life of the mother and cases of rape and incest.

No. It would criminalize miscarriages and outlaw multiple forms of birth control and infertility treatments. In addition, it would further decrease maternal health care providers in Iowa. I believe in enshrining Roe V Wade into Iowa Law and enshrining it in the Iowa Constitution.

From my perspective as a proponent of public education and parental choice in education, prioritizing children's needs would be paramount. Furthermore, as lawmakers, I’d establish clear guidelines for age-appropriate content available in school libraries and ensure that historical and curriculum standards are accurate, objective, and don’t include political or personal biases.

Fund public education at rates that are equal to inflation and backfill for a decade of neglect by the Iowa Legislature. Ensuring that our teachers and paraeducators have a living wage. Stop the partisan attacks on our education system that drive teachers away. While there is some interest in the legislature establishing guidelines - such as teaching cursive - we should strive to keep we should strive to keep partisanship out of our curriculum.

Unlike Florida or California, Iowa is not a traditional destination state, therefore, to enhance its appeal to businesses and investors, we must streamline regulatory processes and cut red tape to foster small business growth, positioning Iowa as one of the top states for business in the United States.

Stop the culture wars. Stop the unprecedented intrusion of government into people's private medical, health, and reproductive care. Raise wages to compete with our neighboring states and work to attract talent from across the nation to fill the jobs that are going unfilled.