Marion man gets early start on 2016 election

MARION - Ken Rizer won't take his seat in the Iowa House until Monday, but he already has attracted a challenger.

'There's no reason to wait,” Sam Gray of Marion said about running against the Cedar Rapids Republican in 2016.

That's because 'unless Rizer flip-flops on every issue he ran on, he's not the right guy for the district,” Gray said. 'If he does what he campaigned on, it won't be good for the community.”

Rizer, who returned to Linn County after a 25-year career in the Air Force, was elected Nov. 4 in Iowa House District 68. He defeated freshman Democratic Rep. Daniel Lundby, 52 percent to 46 percent.

He'll take his seat in the Iowa House on Monday when the Legislature convenes for a 110-day session.

'Well, I wasn't expecting that this early,” Rizer said when told about Gray's plans, 'but politics is what it is.”

Rizer said he will 'focus on the things I can control - to do my best to serve the people of Marion, Bertram, Ely.”

'We'll worry about re-election down the road,” he said.

Gray, a 20-year-old Kirkwood Community College student and seed corn salesman, has been involved in local Democratic politics, including serving as a delegate to the party's national convention in 2012.

A Marion High School graduate, Gray plans to transfer to Iowa State University to study agronomy after completing his studies at Kirkwood.

He hopes voters look past his age 'and see what I stand for.”

His top priority is education, especially the cost of higher education. Gray attended Coe College his freshman year and called it 'kind of ridiculous” that the cost of a private college and a state university were about the same.

'Middle and upper middle class families have too much income to qualify for financial aid, but can't afford to pay their own way,” Gray said.

He also wants the state tax code reformed to provide relief for middle income families. Gray called a 'gradual” increase in the gas tax 'fair.”

'If we improve our infrastructure, business will come,” he said.

Gray also would like to phase in a $2-an-hour increase in Iowa's $7.25 minimum wage. His agenda includes issues that will affect him and his generation, Gray said.

'So it makes sense for me and my generation to be in there helping to make the decisions,” he said