Challenges ahead as Upmeyer set to make Iowa Legislature history

DES MOINES - Linda Upmeyer will become the first woman to serve as speaker of the Iowa House when state lawmakers convene at the Iowa Capitol in January for the 2016 legislative session.

She will preside over the chamber from the same seat in which her father, Del Stromer, sat 34 years prior.

Here is an interview with Upmeyer, edited for brevity.

What do you remember about the 23 years your father served in the Iowa Legislature?

The thing I remember most about it is how dedicated he was to his constituents. In those days, we didn't have email, and we didn't have cellphones. So every phone call to every constituent was from our kitchen wall phone. On Saturday mornings, we'd have people driving in to stop and see dad. So I guess I got to see really firsthand what it means to be a public servant and to find that very, very rewarding.

Was there a point watching your father when you thought that was something you aspired to?

When Dad decided to retire and take a different position, at that moment in time, I thought, 'Hmm, maybe I should do this.” I was in the middle of (nursing) school, had these five little children, and I quickly recognized the time wasn't right. Then, when I finished some of those things, and my youngest was a senior in high school, and Roger Broers decided not to run, and Steve Sukup decided to run for governor, and it was after redistricting, so pieces of those districts were put together. And said, 'OK, this is a good time to run.”

Do you ever find yourself doing something that reminds you of your father?

Whenever it comes to tax policy, I think of one night when I was a fairly new legislator, and I lived at my mom and dad's house. They were gone for the winter, but usually around April, they'd come back. And one night ... Dad said, 'Now remember, those things were put in place for a good reason. So think about that.” And I find myself doing that with lots of things. The education formula is one that we struggle with and how can we make it better. That's one that my dad worked on a lot, and it's worked well for the state.

What role do you envision for Kraig Paulsen after he resigns from the speaker's chair?

You know, we all came to the Legislature, starting out we maybe had a special thing we wanted to work on, or maybe we just wanted to learn more about a lot of things. I think there are a few things that he'd still like to tackle, and he's going to get the opportunity.

Is there anything in particular you've observed in the way Speaker Paulson operates that you would like to emulate?

I think that when Speaker Paulsen came in, he sort of restored the decorum. We start on time. … And I think that's just an important thing, that people have an expectation of how a good-working organization is run, and we should run the Legislature that way.

As Speaker of the House, you will be the face of the House, especially House Republicans. Do you feel prepared for that role?

Anybody really taking on this role for the first time has a certain amount of nervousness. You know, you want to do it well. You want your caucus and Iowans to feel like they're well-represented. So I think, like most things I've done and experienced, I will become much more comfortable with it as I've done it more times.

What is your outlook on getting the budget done this year?

We've got about $173 million new dollars. We do have some built-in things that will consume that. So we're going to have to look at the budget and be very thoughtful about funding priorities.

Issues related to abortion came to the forefront in recent months. Will House Republicans be introducing new abortion-related legislation?

Our caucus would prefer to fund women's health clinics that did not also engage in abortion activity. So I predict that once again the budget this year will not fund abortion activity. Additionally, the videos (of Planned Parenthood doctors talking about transfer fees for fetal tissue) kind of raised a new awareness and also raised the question of does Iowa have a fetal tissue law that would be something that would reflect federal law.

What are your feelings leading up to that first day of the session? Excitement? Nervousness?

When that day arrives, I will be looking forward to it.