Letter: Education a priority for Sen. Liz Mathis

I urge voters in Senate District 34 to re-elect an outstanding public servant, Sen. Liz Mathis, one of the hardest working and most respected members of the Iowa Senate.

Among the many reasons to re-elect Sen. Mathis is the senator's support for freezing state university tuition. Republican candidates can talk about freezing tuition, but talk is cheap. Senate Democrats did the heavy lifting to make it happen two years in a row, and we would have had a third freeze but for Gov. Terry Branstad's 2015 veto.

In-state tuition doesn't cover the full cost of educating a student, so with enrollments surging - up 10,000 at ISU alone - the universities needed more state support to avoid asking Iowa students to pay more.

Miraculously, in some very tight budget years, Senate Democrats - with Sen. Mathis' firm support - three times scraped together the resources to get the job done. Senate Republicans claimed to support the tuition freezes, but when it came to a vote, they almost unanimously voted 'no” in 2013, 'no” again in 2014, and 'no” again in 2015.

Getting a college education is more important than ever to a young person's future, but college student debt is a big problem across the country. Sen. Mathis understands the problem and has answered the call with actions, not just words.

Iowa needs more leaders like Sen. Mathis. Please vote for Sen. Mathis on Tuesday.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach

Iowa Senate District 23 and

Chair, Iowa Senate Education Committee

Ames