Westrich touts 'common sense' record

Oct. 1—Two years ago, Cherielynn Westrich went to Des Moines wide-eyed as a freshman state representative.

That time allowed her to seek higher aspirations, this time as a state senate candidate.

Westrich, a Republican from Ottumwa, is vying for the new District 13 state senate seat against Democrat Matt Greiner of Bloomfield. Westrich has a bag full of accomplishments she's proud of, and wants to continue that trend in a district that includes all of Wapello, Monroe and Davis counties, and most of Appanoose County.

"I felt like I was doing more good than I thought I could accomplish going up there," she said. "So when the redistricting maps made an open senate seat, (running for it) seemed like the right thing to do.

"It's an opportunity to serve in a larger district and represent more people."

Westrich touts many of her accomplishments, especially in the public safety sector. She's proud of the 3.9% flat tax cut the legislature passed.

"I think taxes are what's on people's minds because, of course, that's their money," she said. "That's how they get to enjoy life and spend the money the way they want to and to raise their families."

She also was pleased about a bill that passed along those who are part of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) to return to the workforce if they choose, as well as making retirement income tax-free.

"We're really helping retirees in hopes that more will want to stay in the state," she said.

Westrich's current house district serves about half of Wapello County, but even as she travels the new senate district, she hears a lot of the same concerns.

"I think a lot of the frustrations I hear in most counties are with local government, with their property taxes and other things done at the local level," she said. "I hear a lot of appreciation for what we did at the state level with taxes."

However, one of the most polarizing pieces of legislation Westrich voted for was the anti-critical race theory bill, which also focuses on "divisive concepts" perceived to be taught in schools.

Westrich offered her take on what "divisive concepts" means.

"It's like teaching a child that because of the color of their skin, that makes a difference in anything they do," she said. "In my view, the color of your skin is inconsequential. It's just what you look like, and it doesn't impact the way they think or feel about other children.

"If you look at critical race theory, it's teaching one child that they're less than another child because of the color of their skin," Westrich said. "I thought we got over that a long time ago. We shouldn't be focusing on that. We should maybe focus on make sure our kids know how to budget money, make sure they know math and science."

By definition, according to Associated Press, critical race theory is not taught in public schools; it is a college-level academic theory that essentially says there has been systemic racism in the United States' institutions, which are dominated by whites.

Westrich, however, believes the state's education budget, which makes up more than half the budget needs to be re-evaluated; it's why she's a proponent of school choice, whether it be through a voucher system or charter schools.

"I think parents should be included in the conversation and definitely be the person who makes the decision of where and how their children are educated," Westrich said. "So we need to give parents more choices. It creates competition, but it doesn't destroy public schools. It actually makes them better by improving scores.

"I'm going to make sure that it's not going to affect us in a negative way, and being transparent with the school officials in the district," she said. "I'm not going to pledge my vote to the party or to the governor. I'm pledging my vote to the people of Senate District 13."

Even though most legislation has passed on a party-line vote, Westrich wishes that wasn't the case. She believes more bipartisanship needs to be accomplished, but the current system is set up in a way to discourage it.

"We have the greatest system in the world, but we can do better. We have done some bipartisan legislation, but it's going to be an issue as long as there is a two-party system," she said. "In Wapello County, we have a lot of independent and non-party residents who express their frustration, and I understand that. I was a registered independent until the time I ran for office, but I picked the party that best represents what I felt was important.

"I'm a problem-solver with conservative values," she said. "Anyone who's worked in local government will have a record you can look at, and I'm pretty well-rounded. I hope people see that."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury