Q&A with Iowa Senate 41 candidate Deb VanderGaast

Deb VanderGaast, 54, of Tipton, is the Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate District 41 in the Nov. 8 general election. VanderGaast is a registered nurse and operates a child care center for children with special needs. VanderGaast faces Kerry Gruenhagen, of Walcott. The district covers all of Cedar, the western portion of Scott and northern portions of Muscatine County.

The Gazette posed a set of questions to all area statehouse candidates. Below is the transcript of VanderGaast’s answers. Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

What do you think are the three most important issues the state is facing? What would you do to address them?

VanderGaast: Public school funding and respect for our teachers is important not only for the education of our children, but for the survival of our rural communities. School vouchers will take money away from our already struggling schools and would result in segregation of our urban schools. I support a 4% annual increase in state education funding and poverty factor supplementary weighting to balance funding for schools in low-income areas. Reproductive rights are under imminent threat in Iowa. I oppose a constitutional amendment stating abortion is not a right in Iowa, and I oppose any legislation to restrict access to abortion. The lack of affordable housing is contributing to population decline and declining school enrollment. I support tax credits to increase the affordable housing supply.

Do you support the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines? Why or why not?

VanderGaast: No. Not only does the CO2 pipeline not provide any benefit to the affected property owners or communities, it creates a serious safety risk. Land owners and farmers should not be forced to have the pipeline placed on their land against their will. We need to address climate change, but the carbon emitted by corn production and the equipment needed to capture CO2 negates most of the benefits of carbon capture. Rather than investing in technologies that will prolong our dependence on fossil fuels, we should be investing in infrastructure that will facilitate our shift to clean energy sources and investing in farming practices and technology that will keep Iowa farmers thriving long into the future.

What restrictions or limitations should be placed on the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines?

VanderGaast: If eminent domain is allowed, land owners should receive annual compensation just as are given for wind turbines. Minimum setbacks from dwellings and schools/daycares should be established. The easements should be restricted to just the pipeline and not allow use for future infrastructure or pipelines projects. Pipeline companies should be required to provide the equipment and training needed to respond to a rupture to the potential responding fire and ambulance services along the route, and one electric rescue vehicle to each county emergency management agency along the pipeline route to facilitate medical evacuation in oxygen deficient environments where internal combustion engines will not run.

The state is projected to have a budget surplus of more than $1 billion. What would be your top priorities for that surplus?

VanderGaast: Properly fund our schools. Expand child care assistance and improve childcare provider pay. Tuition reimbursement or other incentives to increase supply or rural medical and mental health providers. Provide tax incentives to increase the supply of safe, affordable housing across the state.

What changes - beyond those made in recent sessions - would you like to see made to Iowa's tax code?

VanderGaast: I would like to see progressive income taxes reinstated to reduce Iowa's reliance on regressive forms of revenue, such as consumption taxes and fees, which disproportionately affect low-income Iowans. Relying to heavily on property taxes to fund public school create huge disparities in school funding in low-income areas, and cutting income taxes, and therefore state funding, will force school districts to increase property taxes to cover operating costs.

Under what circumstances should Iowans be able to access abortion services in the state? What if any, exceptions should apply to any abortion bans?

VanderGaast: Abortion is a private decision between a woman and her doctor and should not be regulated based on political or religious ideology. At a minimum, women should have unrestricted access to abortion to the gestational age of viability. Abortions after viability should be based on medical need as determined by the woman's physician, not by statute. There are too many potential medial reasons that could make terminating a pregnancy necessary, so listing eligible conditions could not possible encompass every potential scenario. Eminent death of the mother should not be a requirement for abortion, and the requirement endangers pregnant women by delaying necessary care. We need to let doctors make medical decisions instead of politicians.

What are your ideas for improving public schools?

VanderGaast: We need to provide at least a 4% annual state funding increase so that schools can keep up with rising costs and provide competitive wages to teachers and school staff. Implement poverty factor supplementary weighting with an additional 0.20 to 0.25 in funding for low-income students targeting eligibility on either federal status, free and reduced price lunch eligibility, or both to balance funding for schools in low-income areas. We need to stop allowing religious and political ideologies to be used to determine what curriculum and teaching materials are used in schools and what books are available in libraries, and we need to stop attacking teachers based on conspiracy theories. Inclusion and tolerance should be lessons our children learn in school, not racism and discrimination.

Do you support further use of state funds to help parents pay the costs of non-public schools or home schooling for grades K-12? Why or why not?

VanderGaast: No. Public funds belong in public schools. Parents already get the Iowa Tuition Tax Credit to help offset the cost of private schools, and private schools get state assistance for busing, textbooks and special education. Vouchers will take funding away from our already struggling and under-funded public schools and give it to private entities that do not have to conform with education standards and that do not have to accept children with disabilities, or who are from low-income or minority families. This will result in segregated, severely under-funded schools, and could force rural school to consolidate or close. Closing rural schools has drastic consequences on the economy and population loss of rural towns.

Should Iowa ban the use of hand-held mobile devices while driving?

VanderGaast: 25 states already have a ban on the use of hand-held electronic communication devices to write, send or view electronic messages while driving, and those states have seen a 15% reduction in motor vehicle fatalities. Iowa currently prohibits the use of hand-held electronic communication devices to write, send or view electronic messages while driving. A proposed bill in 2022 would raise fines and make it a moving violation, but does allow for hands-free use and emergency use. I would support this measure, but am concerned it could be disproportionately enforced against minority drivers.