Iowa Senator District 47 Candidate: Mary Kathleen Figaro

(KWQC) – TV6 reached out to candidates with a listing of questions to assist voters make an knowledgeable resolution within the Nov. 8 elections.

These are the total, unedited responses from the candidates. TV6 will submit the solutions on the Choice 2022 web page.

TV6 doesn’t endorse any candidates. We are going to proceed so as to add extra candidates’ solutions as we obtain them.

Mary Kathleen Figaro, 52, Bettendorf, Iowa.

What are your prime three priorities if elected?

a) Restoring Iowa’s place as prime within the nation for public schooling

b) Entry to high quality healthcare, together with psychological well being

c) Aggressive wages to develop our financial system

Do you help offering pupil mortgage debt aid?  Why or why not?

I had over $100k price of pupil loans after ending my schooling and lived inside my means as a pupil and past to have the ability to pay all of it off early. For that purpose, I’m towards paying off the loans of others, who, like me, willingly entered into instructional mortgage contracts. College students used to have the ability to afford schooling utilizing revenue from a Summer season job, minimal loans and scholarships. That is not doable for the overwhelming majority of scholars.  We’d like an schooling system that works for all. College students and their dad and mom now typically bear the burden alone. The very best resolution is to fund public schooling in a means that advantages all of society and can result in a greater educated inhabitants and extra technical/sensible graduates.

How do you intend to handle housing entry and affordability?

The  Iowa Housing and Finance Authority, Iowa’s different to FHA, could make low curiosity loans accessible to households. Lack of inexpensive housing is an issue nationwide, together with within the QCA. Native and regional authorities leaders should work to search out methods to construct inexpensive buildings which might be sturdy, somewhat than weak buildings that turn into uninhabitable and should be torn down. As well as, subsidies that assist households afford steady housing throughout a transition may also help preserve stability. Lastly, the charges of enhance in rental models needs to be pegged to a system of measurement that corresponds with the ebb and stream of the financial system.  This might  cushion the monetary blow of inflation and simultaneous lease will increase that will in any other case destabilize the funds of younger folks and households.

How excessive of a precedence ought to world warming be?  What’s going to you do to assist deal with the local weather disaster?

We should contemplate the long run well being of our kids and grandchildren to appreciate the significance of controlling the local weather disaster. Federal businesses, insurance coverage institutes, companies, and members of most of the people all play a component in rising the resiliency of rural communities to the results of local weather change.  Accountable municipal planners, together with metropolis councils and county supervisors should plan coverage that takes into consideration the dangers of local weather change for residential or industrial zoning, value sharing, grant-seeking, and useful resource growth. I’d work hand-in-hand with our regional leaders to make sure our demographic adjustments and assets are accounted for when planning for local weather change. I’d additionally advocate that our weaknesses as communities (comparable to lack of assets) be precisely recognized in order that sound, science-based insurance policies might be developed. Local weather change is inevitable; our only response might be to create customized options which might be tailor-made to handle the wants of Iowa.

Do you approve of the present state place on abortion rights?  What adjustments to abortion rights needs to be made?

As a doctor, I took an oath to guard life.  I honor and respect the suitable of one other particular person to make medical selections which might be proper for them and their household. We Iowans all deserve the liberty to make healthcare selections that defend our personal lives. It’s harmful to compel an individual to threat her personal life and security for any purpose. Being pregnant may be very harmful 14 instances extra harmful than a medical abortion.  As well as, maternal mortality charges are highest within the US in comparison with different industrialized nations.  Outlawing abortion can threaten a lady’s bodily and psychological well being, her life, in addition to her freedom.

Many state statutes use definitions of abortion that put medical doctors and sufferers in harmful conditions. Physicians who take care of pregnant ladies with harmful pregnancies threat prosecution beneath the legislation. They might inadvertently let the affected person’s situation turn into so dangerous that they threat her life. The uncertainty and variety of present state-based abortion legal guidelines can chill the willingness of medical doctors to offer care for ladies.

What needs to be accomplished to fight inflation?

Almost everyone seems to be impacted by the worldwide pattern of inflation. The answer for inflation rests with the federal reserve and with the federal rate of interest. As an illustration, the housing market has cooled after rates of interest for mortgages have elevated. Within the face of inflation, we’d like financial insurance policies which might be useful and supportive to as many Iowans as doable; together with members of  the center class.  As well as, higher and extra inexpensive childcare will enable extra folks to work, and income-based tax credit may also help make childcare extra inexpensive in Iowa. Insurance policies which might be pro-labor will increase wages and could have essentially the most influence to fight the impact of inflation on a household’s finances. An individual ought to be capable of afford meals and requirements of life with one full-time job. Because the Amazon and meat packing crops exemplify, we are able to increase the usual of residing with jobs that enable one job per particular person to help a household and work collectively to strengthen our group.

Do you help elevating the minimal wage?

Sure. Many exhausting working  Iowans are nonetheless struggling to afford very primary wants for sustenance. Wages will not be even near maintaining with inflation and the rising value of residing. Virtually 12% of Iowans are meals insecure. Youngsters are going to high school with out breakfast and/or going house and never having dinner. Anxious, hungry kids are much less prone to carry out at their finest academically or turn into nurses, lecturers, engineers, and so forth. We should increase wages in Iowa in order that households could have enough assets and time for elevating their kids to turn into good residents of the state.

What function do you suppose the federal government ought to have in establishing office insurance policies like paid sick days, paid household and medical go away, and minimal wage?

It’s due to unions that there’s OSHA, 40-hour work weeks, minimal wage legal guidelines, security measures and compensation for accidents at work.  The federal government should hold collective bargaining choices for all staff and make family-friendly insurance policies like paid sick go away a actuality for staff for all jobs. Whereas ladies might profit extra presently as main caretakers of youngsters and aged, our total state advantages from stopping sick kids from infecting their schoolmates or aged kinfolk, staff from infecting others within the work setting and pressured and sick folks from making errors in medical, authorities and different work settings. In the end, sick and household go away helps households and communities preserve stability and thrive.

There may be rising scrutiny towards legislation enforcement nationally, statewide, and domestically.  Do you are feeling that the scrutiny is justified?

In Iowa, legislation enforcement is to be counseled for his or her restraint and normal good repute. There are situations the place legislation enforcement has needed to be held accountable for actions or inaction throughout particular crises. I help legislation enforcement and can work along with regional authorities to make sure they’ve the right coaching and instruments to serve and defend our group with integrity and honor.

What do you consider to be the #1 public security challenge in Iowa at the moment?

Iowa doesn’t adequately spend money on combating drug use or offering psychological well being. Not solely are these two of essentially the most pressing points, they’re associated. Each household has a member who has or has had a psychological dysfunction. In response to the CDC, Iowa has the sixth-highest charge of significant psychological sickness within the nation and ranked useless final in therapy openings accessible per capita.  Individuals with psychological sickness are sometimes victims of violence. A shortage of psychological well being professionals in Iowa can go away sufferers and their households scared, alone, and out of choices. I intend to make enhancing psychological well being a precedence for our state.

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