Governor hopeful decries 'not the Iowa I know'

Democratic state lawmaker and gubernatorial candidate Ras Smith of Waterloo sees an Iowa nearly unrecognizable from the one his grandmother sought out so she could build a better life for her family.

Smith's grandmother fled a sharecropping plantation in Mississippi to move to Iowa in 1957. His father, born on the sharecropping plantation, worked for more than 40 years on as a union member on the assembly line at John Deere. His mother, a military police officer, became a pastor.

Smith, in a recent interview between campaign stops in Davenport, laid out a vision for "building an inclusive Iowa, where everyone knows their voice has value." One that is welcoming, he says, can transcend current partisan divides and offer a higher quality of life for all.

"A place where my grandmother's story can continue. But, right now, I'm not sure my grandmother would have moved to this Iowa," the 33-year-old said of newly enacted voting restrictions he described as “similar" to the Jim Crow laws his grandmother had fled in Mississippi.

Smith, too, pointed to legislation passed this session that ended school districts’ ability to adopt voluntary diversity plans, which the districts used to limit the number of students who could transfer to a different district, thereby encouraging racial diversity. The new law, Smith fears, will lead to "white flight" and segregation, allowing wealthier families to flee public schools for less-diverse charters or private schools and reducing funds for poor students.

Davenport, Des Moines, Postville, Waterloo and West Liberty were the only districts in Iowa with the diversity plans.

The Davenport Community School District earlier this month said 157 Davenport students had transferred since the change in the law, largely to neighboring districts. As a result, district officials estimated Davenport schools could lose about $1,177,500 in state funding.

A ranking member of the Iowa House education committee and husband of an educator, Smith this summer unveiled an education plan aimed at shoring up a public education system he argues has been shortchanged by policies promoted by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds that benefit private interests at the expense of educators and students.

That includes Reynolds' push for legislation that would establish a state-funded school voucher scholarship program for public school students who want to attend private school, and her signing of legislation expanding the state’s charter school system. The law clears the way for both public school boards and private organizations to form publicly-funded charter schools that can offer students alternative methods of learning.

Reynolds has argued the new law gives parents a greater choice over where their children go to school and how they are educated, and provides greater flexibility to serve a diverse and changing student population.

Opponents argue the law shifts tax dollars away from public schools to charter schools that have less oversight, accountability and transparency.

Smith's education plan, among other provisions, would: Reduce class sizes and mandated testing, increase school support personnel, restore collective bargaining rights for teachers, stop the expansion of "for-profit" private and charter schools in Iowa and "enable local school boards and district officials to serve their communities without state government overreach."

Smith pointed to "mean-spirited legislation" Reynolds signed into law that banned Iowa school districts from requiring masks in schools. A federal judge on Monday extended a temporary restraining order blocking the law that banned mask mandates, citing rising COVID-19 rates in Iowa.

The issue has become a flash point that has roiled school districts.

"We have to start acting with courage and do things that aren't just politically pandering," Smith said. "I don't know this place where people are making fun of children for wearing a mask and telling their stories about losing their grandparents. I don't know this place where our governor is afraid to stand up for what's right. That's not the Iowa I know. That's not in line with our values."

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released earlier this month shows Reynolds with a 53 percent job approval rating. She earned high marks for her handling of the state economy, schools and education as Iowans and businesses seek a return to normal amid the continuing pandemic.

"Governor Reynolds has fought to protect Iowans’ freedoms and their ability to make decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families," Reynolds’ campaign spokesman Pat Garrett said in a statement. "The governor is a strong supporter of public schools while also providing parents a stronger voice in their child’s education. Every year since she’s been governor, education spending has increased."

Garrett added Reynolds "is proud to support voter ID, supported by an overwhelming majority of Iowans, and she recently signed legislation to ensure Iowa elections are safe, secure and free of fraud."

"Because of her leadership, Iowa is open, Iowans are working and our state’s best days are ahead," her campaign said.

Other Iowa Democrats running for governor in 2022 include former Iowa Secretary of State candidate and Des Moines business owner Deidre DeJear. Democrats Paul Dahl and Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts have also announced campaigns.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.