Mary Mascher, Iowa House District 86

The Gazette sent a questionnaire to Iowa Legislature candidates representing Linn, Johnson and surrounding counties. The responses are unedited, unless to correct spelling or punctuation. 

To see other candidates' responses, visit our Election 2020 Candidates page. 

Rep. Mary Mascher is unopposed in this election.

What are the three biggest issues facing the state? How would you address them?

1. Balancing the Budget - We need to focus on the priorities Iowan have identified during this election cycle. Creating good paying jobs by increasing the minimum wage; Supporting our educational system by adequately funding our early childhood programs, K-12, Community Colleges, Private Colleges and our Regent Universities; Protecting our environment by funding water quality programs that improve our soil and water; Providing affordable health care for all Iowans by increasing our support for Medicaid and funding programs for a quality adult and children's mental health system.

2. Economic Recovery Post Pandemic - How do we support business recovery Post-COVID-19? Our business community is struggling right now. We must examine the funding supports we have in place to determine what businesses need to continue to attract, retain support their current employees.

3. Derecho Recovery - Thousands of Iowans were impacted by the August straight line winds. Homes were lost, businesses destroyed, and food insecurity has become a greater concern for many Iowans. The state will need to assess the impact from these storms and work to help those businesses and home owners as they recover.

What, if anything, needs to change about the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic?

The COVID-19 crisis will be with us for many months to come. We need to continue to focus on prevention. Avoiding large crowds, social distancing, wearing masks, staying at home if you are sick, and washing hands. In places where we are seeing an increase in positive cases we need to work with the Departments of Public Health in those counties to continue to close bars, limit seating in restaurants, and restricting the size of gatherings indoors and outdoors. The state should be an active partner with the medical community to limit the spread of the virus, especially in schools, nursing homes, college campuses, and meat packing plants.

One change that should be required is, if CMS is going to require nursing homes and care centers to test staff twice a week, they should fund the cost of the testing supplies and staff needed to administer the tests. This is a federal issue and we need to work with our federal officials to see that this is done.

What do you consider as budget priorities? What would you do to ensure these see funding? Which areas would you target funding reductions?

1. Education

2. Health Care

3. Environmental Programs

4. Economic Development

The budget is always about priorities. Some budget departments will need increases due to COVID and Derecho. Other departments may see a status quo budget or reductions. At this time we will need to evaluate all non-essential services and look at reductions in those areas.

What, if any, changes would you make to the way the state funds its K-12 education system?

It is critical that our K-12 system receives adequate funding. This has not occurred for a number of years. Underfunding this system results in staff lay-offs, larger class sizes, and programs being eliminated. The impact of COVID on our schools needs to be evaluated thoroughly. A state-wide gathering of school administrators, teachers, parents and school board members should be convened to evaluate student needs and next steps to address the lost class time due to COVID.

What should the state do to further address water quality issues? What, if anything, should the state do to increase funding for water quality improvements?

Iowans care about their water quality. I would support the following actions in the legislature; update the master matrix to address current problems regarding CAFOS, fund the water quality programs by imposing a tax on fertilizers used in town and on farms, the state needs a statewide water quality monitoring system to measure the contaminates in our rivers, streams, and lakes on an annual basis. It is difficult to determine if we are improving if we do not have a baseline for contaminates.

What should the state do to address the availability of safe and affordable child care across Iowa?

Iowa parents are struggling to find quality, safe, and affordable childcare. Two programs that have been extremely successful are TEACH and WAGE$. The teach program provides funding for childcare providers who are interested in taking additional courses to improve their skills. This program is extremely popular and available in all 99 counties. Many early childhood educators have taken advantage of these course offerings and it would be beneficial to increase the funding for this program. WAGE$ is a program that increases the pay for our childcare workers. This programs is not available in all 99 counties. I would like to see the state funding for this program increased so all childcare educators can access this fund. The local community must provide a match for this program but it is one of the ways we can create stability in the childcare workforce.

What is your response to recent protests calling for racial justice? What changes to law enforcement policy or budgeting do you support? 

The legislature was able to address this issue last session in record time with a bill that received bipartisan support. This was just the beginning. We need to engage the leaders in our minority communities to address the problems with housing, food insecurity, healthcare, and wages. I would begin by identifying a dedicated source of funding for our food banks throughout the state. I would also increase the funding for the Housing Trust Fund. I would increase the minimum wage in Iowa to assure all families have a chance to take care of their basic needs.

For law enforcement policy I would increase the number of case workers in DHS and our local police and sheriff departments so police officers would not have to act as social workers. We need more social workers in law enforcement to work with community members who have mental health issues or are in crisis. We should be focused on de-escalating situations to keep community members out of our jails and prisons.

Will you support a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for felons?

Yes 

Will you approve the governor's IWILL tax relief/mental health plan?

No

Will you seek voter approval of a constitutional amendment on abortion (SJR2001/HJR2004)?

No

Will you support a ban hand-held electronic devices while driving (SF2248/HF2375)?

Yes

Will you support allowing financial compensation for college athletes (SF2330/HF2282)?

Undecided

Will you support making daylight saving time permanent (SF2077/HF2059)?

Undecided

Will you support allowing end-of-life options for patients with terminal conditions (SF2156/HF2302)?

Yes

Will you support closing loopholes to protect mobile home occupants/tenants (HF2351/SF2238)?

Yes

Will you support increasing the state minimum hourly wage from $7.25?

Yes. To 

$15.

Will you support raising the state tobacco tax by $1 to $2.36 per pack?

Yes

Will you support modifying or repealing Iowa's bottle bill law?

Yes

Will you support requiring helmets for minors operating motorcycles/motorized bikes?

Yes

Will you support eliminating criminal penalties for possessing marijuana?

Yes

Will you support establishing a moratorium on constructing large-scale animal feeding facilities?

Yes

Will you support creating an 'extreme risk' or 'red flag' firearms protective order?

Yes