Tony is running to represent Iowa's House District 45 because Iowans deserve a government that respects all Iowans. After all, when government is working as it should, it is of, by, and for the people.
We are our government.
A government that is of, by, and for its people must listen to its people. Meeting with us and understanding the issues that affect us is necessary, but not enough. It also requires leaders who can empathize with us, while also standing strong in the face of pressure from outside interests.
Government is not a business, and can not be run like a business. The problems governments solve are bigger, messier, and have more people involved than problems that business can solve. Government can learn from the things that businesses do well, certainly! However, we must understand that government services are not intended to be profitable, and privatizing too many public services means profits will be put over people.
It is time to put people first.
We put people first by investing in people. Helping people to make ends meet when times are tough. Providing opportunities for people to be the best version of themselves. And by stewarding state resources with the long-term in mind.
It has been a long time since Iowa's leadership did this. Our state government is sitting on a major budget surplus - around $1,900,000,000. At the same time as we have that surplus, many public services are being starved for funding.
Invest in public education
Public education prepares our kids for the future. Yet, school budgets put forth by Republican leaders fall far short of keeping up with inflation, let alone making up for past shortcomings.
As the main schools in House District 45, Bondurant and North Polk community school districts are sources of pride, as are the other 10 school districts that have territory within HD45. Thanks to generous community support, amazing parents, and excellent educators, our students are doing well. But the stress of year after year of budget crunches, the recent and major transfer of resources from public schools to private vouchers, together with all of the uncertainty created by major disruption to our AEAs, leaves a very uncertain future for our public education system.
Economic Development for People
Everyone in or running for public office talks about economic development and jobs because these things are important to us.
Too often, economic development means tax incentives or other giveaways to corporations to come to Iowa with a promise to create jobs. One example is the Lee County fertilizer plant, which Iowan taxpayers subsidized with more than $500,000,000 in 2017. The plant was subsidized because it promised to increase competition, thus providing more options for Iowa farmers. Now the fertilizer plant is being sold at a discounted price to the very corporation that the plant was supposed to compete with. The Tyson processing plant in Perry in 2024 is another example where the state has given very generous incentives to a corporation that does not care about our citizens.
Consolidation across all industries is problematic for many reasons. But consolidation in food and grocery is especially problematic for Iowa's ag-heavy economy. Consumers and producers are both squeezed between monopolies (too few suppliers for markets to work effectively) and monopsonies (too few buyers for markets to work effectively).
We need to build our economy from the community up, in large part to get away from the "too big to fail" dilemma. We do this by supporting small businesses. We do this by diversifying our agricultural landscape and markets. We do this by supporting good-paying jobs, because when we have a strong middle class we keep dollars circulating within our state. We do this by implementing policy that encourages competitive markets to work.
We must stop playing the lottery with our economic development initiatives, and start doing the disciplined work to grow our economy in a sustainable way that does not rely on the whims of out-of-state corporations.
Ecological Resources
We must protect our natural environment: our water, our soil, our forests. These natural resources provide for our sustenance and our recreation.
In 2010, 63% of Iowans funded to approve a constitutional amendment to create the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. This fund has yet to be funded.
Our district has amazing access to natural resources - not only in our city parks, but also in our county parks like the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt and Jester Park. We need to preserve and invest in these resources rather than allow them to continue to degrade.
Protect the elder generation
Iowans who have contributed to their communities for generations are being left with substandard and unacceptable levels of care in our nursing homes. Their adult children, those who historically those who cared for their aging parents, are increasingly unable to take time away from work. There are multiple possible solutions here, and we need to be implementing them. It starts with monitoring facilities providing care services and ensuring their hardworking staff are able to live simple, decent lives.
Support parents
Being a parent and working full-time is tough. We need to make it easier, not harder, for the people who are raising the next generation of Iowans to raise healthy and vibrant kids. There are multiple solutions already available to us, such as simply accepting federal summer EBT dollars to make sure that working families have enough to eat, increasing EITC (earned income tax credits), or exploring Guaranteed Basic Incomes that provide targeted support to working households who still face financial instability.
Tony believes in:
- Investing in our state and our people
- Supporting public education
- Improving water quality
- Lowering cancer rates
- Ensuring elder care
- Fighting for our unions
- Securing women’s reproductive rights
- Guaranteeing library freedom
- Defending our right to vote
- Addressing a rising cost of living
- Standing up to bullies
- Enabling small business
See something else that should be on this list? Please contact Tony!
Tony will create a better tomorrow, together.
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