Where the candidates for West Des Moines' District 31 House race stand on the issues
Two candidates are competing for an open Iowa House seat in West Des Moines this year.
Democrat Mary Madison and Republican Justin Pearson are running in Iowa House District 31, which includes parts of West Des Moines in Polk County, and a small section of the city in northwest Dallas County.
Neither candidate currently holds elected office, and the seat has no incumbent this year.
To help voters, the Des Moines Register sent questions to all federal, statewide and Des Moines area legislative candidates running for political office this year. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Early voting begins Oct. 19 for the Nov. 8 election.
More: A guide to voter rights in Iowa. What you need to know before you cast a ballot
Who is Mary Madison?
Age: 72
Party: Democrat
Where did you grow up? New Jersey
Current town of residence: West Des Moines
Education: M.Div, M.Ed., MA (Minister, Counselor, Educator)
Occupation: Minister, Local Elder at St. Paul A.M.E. Church and Counselor
Political experience and civic activities: Democratic Party Affirmative Action Chair, Voter registration and Education, West Des Moines Democrats Vice Chair, AMOS, Interfaith Alliance, NAACP, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, The Des Moines Chapter of the Links Inc.
Who is Justin Pearson?
Age: 28
Party: Republican
Where did you grow up? Ankeny
Current town of residence: West Des Moines
Education: Iowa State University
Occupation: Self Employed, Realtor with Re/Max Revolution and Owner of Simply Home Solutions, Football and Baseball Coach at Norwalk Middle School
Political experience and civic activities: Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, Iowa Council on Homelessness
What would be your top issue should you be elected?
Madison: Providing a quality public education, training and hiring more mental health providers, protecting reproductive justice as a health care right.
Pearson: Education: My fear is there is a war brewing between traditional family values and public education. There are currently federal regulations from the U.S. Department of Education that force teachers to lie to parents. They have to lie if a student does not want their parents to know about their gender or how they identify, their chosen pronouns, or their sexual experiences. We live in a world where we complain about the number of fatherless kids, but also encourage parents to be kept in the dark. No teacher, coach, or administrator should be forced to withhold information from parents who want what is best for their child. This is not happening only in coastal school districts but right here in the heartland.
More:Meet the candidates for South Des Moines' District 30 Iowa House seat
Iowans are struggling with rising costs and inflation. What can the state do to help them make ends meet?
Madison: Restore fairness and transparency to the market and crack down on the abuses of the big four meat packers. support the "Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act" and work on bipartisan, commonsense solutions that will drive prices down and help Iowans keep money in their pockets, provide a living wage and tax incentives for those struggling with food cost and child care.
Pearson: Continue to decrease the income tax burden, look at ways of decreasing the state sales tax and/or suspending the gas tax. For most Iowans, lowering property tax (at the county or municipal level) would put dollars in the bank every month. Incentivize multi-family and rental landlords to only increase rents when necessary. Partner with our great local nonprofits and businesses that provide support for those in need.
What do you believe Iowa’s abortion policy should be? Do you think abortion should be banned entirely? Do you think Iowa should have no restrictions? If you believe there should be some restrictions, please be specific about the restrictions and the exceptions you support.
Madison: The policy should be protecting reproductive freedom and a woman's right to choose in consultation with her doctor. Women should make their own health care choices in consultation with their doctor, not their legislator or their neighbor.
Pearson: While I think there is still room for discussion on this topic I tend to agree with the heartbeat bill and 6 weeks from conception to be the cut-off for abortion services. Unless the life of the mother is in danger.
More:Where Iowa House District 27 candidates Kenan Judge & Kristen Stiffler stand on key issues
What is the best way to improve Iowa’s education system?
Madison: Increase funding for public schools to 4%. Use public funds for public schools, stop the micromanaging of public schools curriculum and library books, respect our teachers, provide salaries and incentives that say we value our public schools and that we want our public school to be rated in the top five in the nation and not the bottom ten.
Pearson: I think the answer is threefold.
1. Right now teachers are expected, right or wrong, to wear many different hats. They're strapped for time with training and meetings that may not be relevant to their teaching. We need to go back to letting teachers teach and bring down the separate administrative tasks bogging down their days in the classroom and nights and weekends at home.
2. Explore creative ways to raise full-time teacher compensation.
3. Allow for adjunct high school educators to utilize their vocational accomplishments in the private, non-profit, or government sectors to teach high schoolers in the classroom. Ex: Lawyers teaching business law, entrepreneurs teaching business etc.
More:Meet Todd Halbur & Rob Sand, running for Iowa state auditor in the 2022 election midterms
What new laws, if any, do you believe Iowa should pass regarding guns?
Madison: Age restrictions for purchase and safety classes, red flag precautions, stop the sale of assault weapons and require registration to carry a gun. After all, we require registration for everything else, voting, driving, fishing, school enrollment, marriages, births, deaths, etc.
Pearson: I believe any attempt to further restrict gun ownership in Iowa is infringing upon the Constitution's 2nd Amendment.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet candidates running for Iowa House District 31 in 2022 elections
