I grew up in rural Colorado and moved to deep-blue Denver as a young adult. I was not born in Iowa, I CHOSE it. And while I value the deep roots of multi-generation Iowans, we re-pot plants for a reason. My varied experiences, including being a legal analyst and public high school teacher, give me perspective and the ability to build bridges and break down communication barriers that keep neighbors feeling divided. My tipping point was seeing bills using inaccurate terms and flawed citations, and no response from legislatures when we reached out to discuss the unintended consequences of their actions. Elder politicians are caught up in semantics and AI-mistaken-for-reality, so even if we disagree, our policies need to be based on truth. It is time for my generational of 'elder millennials' to get more involved.
Iowa cannot grow if young families keep leaving due to closing hospitals, few jobs, and contaminated water. We need to invest in what makes people stay: clean water, better-paying local jobs, rural healthcare access, mental health services, and social services that are shown to pay for themselves through getting people back into the swing of life. The incumbent lawmakers are focused on culture-war issues, blind to average Iowans struggling to pay bills. We have to keep first things first.
Require lawmakers to cite primary sources that inspired legislation; no more getting tricked by AI video or satire pieces.
Free markets break down when monopolies dominate inelastic essentials. Support breaking up monopolies, opposing foreign land ownership, protecting family farms, and banning eminent domain for private gain.
Teachers are buried in paperwork while classrooms lose resources. Cut redundant mandates, reduce bureaucracy, and improve teacher retention. Demand transparency for the new public tax fund voucher systems to private school, requiring the same audits and limits on spending categories as public schools.
Iowa recently went to a flat tax -- despite $22,000 homes and 5 million dollar homes being in the same district. With such disparity between income and home valuations, we need a framework that allows local decision-makers the ability to set levies and rates right for their communities. We have digital calculators and algorithms now; we can implement fair progressive tax policies in ways that were never possible before.
No further restrictions to the 6-week abortion ban; OB-GYNs should not need to get on the phone with a lawyer or send a woman miscarrying home at risk of getting sepsis due to the physician being afraid of losing their license for an un-allowed procedure.
Collaborate with water experts and farmers to avert the nitrate/cancer crisis. Provide grants and support where needed, buffered by improved revenues resulting from folks working, not moving away or dying of cancer (#2 cancer rate in USA and growing).
Have questions or suggestions? I would love to hear from you!
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