Meet the candidates 2024: Iowa Senate District 26 pt. 2
Ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, the T-R sent out questionnaires to the candidates in competitive races across the coverage area. Today’s spotlight focuses on Iowa Senate District 26, which covers all of Marshall County and most of Story County outside of Ames.
In the race to replace retiring two-term Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center), Republican nominee Kara Warme of rural Ames, who serves in a leadership role at YSS, will face Democrat Mike Wolfe, a Democrat from rural Maxwell who serves as a project estimator for a local mechanical contractor. The first half of their answers were printed in Monday’s paper, and the remainder can be found below. The Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce will host a candidate forum with Warme, Wolfe, David Blom, Sue Cahill, Brett Barker and Ryan Condon at Dejardin Hall on the MCC campus on Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
8. The Iowa Veterans Home has been in the headlines several times over the last few months related to the recent restructuring, and Rep. Sue Cahill has called for State Auditor Rob Sand to perform an audit of the state-run facility. How can the legislature ensure that IVH is living up to its obligations to veterans and providing the best care possible?
Kara Warme: I’m proud to have Iowa’s only Veterans Home within my district. There have been several stories about the Iowa Veterans Home over the last several years, and it is really disappointing to see it get politicized. There are many good and dedicated people working at the Veterans Home, many of whom I have met on my tours and visits, and I am grateful for the work they do to serve our veterans in need. Iowa veterans have fought for our country and our citizens, protecting the values we hold dear and standing up for what we believe in. Growing up in a military family, I learned early on the values of discipline, service, and patriotism. Our Iowan veterans have stood valiantly in the face of danger, and they deserve the best we can give them in these years of their lives. While the majority of funding for the Veterans Home is federal, oversight is an important function of the legislative branch and we want to ensure the Iowa Veterans Home is taking care of these noble men and women and providing the best possible care as their needs and desires evolve.
Mike Wolfe: The legislature needs to make sure we are sending adequate funding to support our veterans. We also need to make sure the Auditor’s office has the legal authority to fully investigate all state run programs and funding. Recent legislation has restricted what information the Auditor can require agencies to provide. Sue’s call to audit the IVH is a situation that highlights the need for a strong Auditor’s office.
9. Do you support the use of eminent domain on private property for carbon capture pipelines?
Warme: Private property is one of the most important principles our country was founded on. Iowa has some of the strongest protections for private property rights in the country. I would like to see Iowa’s current law on this issue be improved by providing more flexibility for projects to access land. This would allow more Iowans who are willing to voluntarily grant access to their property at a fair price, reducing the need for eminent domain. This approach would support economic development while ensuring access to affordable and reliable electricity, broadband, and water.
Wolfe: I oppose ANY use of eminent domain for private economic development. If the carbon capture pipeline truly is a profitable enterprise, it can stand on its own and negotiate in good faith with private landowners. Eminent domain should only be used for projects with a clear use for the general public, like roads, bridges, and pipelines that directly serve the folks living on the land the pipelines cross, such as gas mains from a public utility.
10. The state currently has a record surplus. What, if anything, would you propose putting that money toward?
Warme: A record surplus means the state has over-collected on taxes. It means the government has collected too much of Iowans’ hard-earned dollars. First and foremost we need to look at Iowa’s tax policy and what the state can do to continue bringing tax relief to Iowa families. We also should look at how that surplus can be used to set up our state and those who reside in it for success and prosperity in the future. I am a strong proponent for responsible budgeting and sustainable spending, and will always advocate for ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and efficiently.
Wolfe: We have a surplus because Republican lawmakers have been hoarding money to justify tax cuts instead of investing in our state. Public education funding hasn’t kept up with inflation in 11 of the last 12 years – then the schools get blamed for not improving performance! Defunding education isn’t a fiscally responsible policy, it’s a recipe for disaster.
11. Should the state of Iowa legalize marijuana for recreational use? Why or why not?
Warme: Working in behavioral health care with kids and teenagers, I have seen first-hand the damage drugs like marijuana can cause. Marijuana is not safe for developing brains, and it also can be a gateway to more dangerous drugs. I have been working with Iowa’s youth and offering resources to help support their mental health, addiction treatment, crisis services, and helping them make healthy choices for themselves. I want the same thing for adults – I want them to have access to the mental services they need when they need them and the ability to make good, healthy choices for themselves and their families. Iowa has a medical marijuana program for those who need it, but I do not believe legalizing marijuana for recreational use is in the best interest of Iowans.
Wolfe: Iowa should legalize marijuana. There is wide-spread voter support for legalization, and Iowans that want to legally purchase marijuana currently just need to drive to our neighboring states. Colorado recently had to change the way it spends its marijuana tax receipts because they had TOO MUCH MONEY going to their public education system! We should find a way to integrate marijuana cultivation with Iowa agriculture as a cash crop, and keep tax proceeds here at home.
12. If elected, how would you address the childcare situation in Iowa?
Warme: The legislature has made a lot of progress in working to make child care more accessible in Iowa. For example, a new website called Child Care Connect was just released this summer to help parents find child care in their area and show information about availability in real time. I think the greatest thing we can do as state legislators is to help government get out of the way. Burdensome regulations are what make it difficult to operate entities like child care centers in Iowa. If we want to help people work and provide for their families, then cutting red tape for Iowans who are trying to provide this service is one of the most important things we can do.
Wolfe: We need to make childcare more accessible and affordable. We could increase or expand the Child and Dependent Care tax credit. We could expand state funding in early childhood education – changing the goal from a place for kids to stay to a place for kids to start learning. This could benefit not just working parents, but the public education system as more kids are introduced earlier to the skills they will need to succeed in school and life.
13. Are there any major agricultural policy changes you would suggest if elected?
Warme: Living in rural Iowa and owning farmland, I know just how hard our farmers work. Agriculture is our state’s biggest economic driver, and farmers all across Iowa work hard day and night to feed our state, our country, and the world. There are a lot of bad actors out there trying to ruin these family farms, the agriculture industry, and our way of life. What agriculture needs is a protector and someone to stand up for Iowa’s farmers against the radical coastal elites trying to destroy our economy and culture.
Wolfe: In the last session, I was very alarmed at the prospect of Iowa farmers and their families being banned from taking legal action against large corporations over legitimate health and safety concerns. I support protecting our farmers versus global corporations.
On a more local level, I’d like to explore increasing support for 4H and FFA programs to connect suburban kids with opportunities to work with on-farm projects. Connecting kids with rural life could be one more draw to keep them here in Iowa.
14. If it hasn’t been asked yet, what’s another topic you’d like to address once you take office? Additionally, are there any issues specific to Story and Marshall counties you would seek to address?
Warme: The MPACT co-responder program in Marshalltown has been tremendously successful, and I would like to help identify long-term sustainable funding and growth for this program and other innovative community behavioral health partnerships like it.
I am excited for the opportunity to serve Marshall and Story counties in the Iowa Senate. This part of the state is a great place to live and raise a family. I want to protect the things that make our area so special and find ways to make it even better.
Wolfe: Iowans deserve a government that will serve the needs of our own, rather than passing legislation written by out of state special interests. We need our lawmakers to seek input from Iowans.