Iowa State Senate District 35 Candidate: Jed Ganzer

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

These are the complete, unedited responses from the candidates. TV6 will put up the solutions on the Determination 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.

Jed Ganzer, 56, DeWitt, Iowa

What are your high three priorities if elected?

My primary coverage is public training. Having a free, high quality training for all of our residents is necessary for an informed and productive society. Public training provides all college students a good likelihood at changing into an informed and productive citizen. I might vote NO to Governor Reynolds’ personal college voucher invoice that will take cash away from already underfunded public faculties and provides to personal faculties who don’t have to just accept all college students. Different high priorities are accessible and inexpensive healthcare, together with psychological well being, all whereas having the suitable to privateness. I additionally would put money into roads, bridges, and broadband. Iowa has a $1.9 billion price range surplus; we might use a few of this surplus for these necessary priorities.

Do you help offering scholar mortgage debt reduction? Why or why not?

What’s fascinating about this query is that Iowa already has 6 scholar mortgage forgiveness applications and the federal authorities has many as properly earlier than President Biden introduced a widespread forgiveness program of round $10,000. It then grew to become unfavorable to help scholar mortgage forgiveness. I feel we should always proceed to help some form of scholar mortgage forgiveness in areas of employee shortages. At this level the applications might be expanded as we now have extra employee shortages in additional areas. Academics, docs, nurses, veterinarians in rural areas, simply to call a number of, ought to proceed to have some scholar mortgage forgiveness.

How do you propose to handle housing entry and affordability?

Fortunately Iowa is within the high 10 nationally for housing affordability. Governor Reynolds has applied a plan to bolster housing provide and supply help to the bottom earnings earners. Nonetheless, her program to develop 375 new rental houses a 12 months for low earnings earners is meager. Iowa ranks forty fifth for low earnings earners affordability for housing based on the Nationwide Low Revenue Housing Coalition. Applications for low earnings earners ought to be expanded. Elevating the minimal wage may additionally enhance low earnings earners’ talents to afford housing.

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

World warming ought to be one of many high 5 priorities for Iowa because it presently impacts us and extra importantly for our future. Iowa is a nationwide chief in wind vitality, producing the very best share of electrical energy produced by wind (over 57% in 2022) of any state. Let’s preserve this going. Most Iowans help this as a result of they permit the wind generators on their properties. Photo voltaic farms may also be an effective way to handle local weather change. This could be a win-win for Iowans. Clinton County supervisors did it proper; they allowed solar energy improvement after Ranger Energy and the farmers met each requirement. I help each of those tasks that may convey cash into our space and scale back general carbon dioxide emissions.

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

For almost fifty years Roe v. Wade has been a constitutional proper to abortion. The state mustn’t intervene in an individual’s proper to privateness of their medical healthcare selections, nor ought to they criminalize the affected person or the concerned physician. If Iowa outlaws abortion, we could have a good tougher time discovering OB/GYN docs to return to Iowa. Will an ectopic being pregnant be allowed for an abortion, or will we put the mom’s life in danger? Will a rape sufferer be allowed an abortion? With the unlucky overturning of Roe v. Wade, these conditions and extra are actually lingering questions for the state to find out.

What ought to be completed to fight inflation?

Contractionary financial coverage is now the popular methodology of controlling inflation. The purpose of a contractionary financial coverage is to cut back the cash provide inside an economic system by rising rates of interest. This helps sluggish financial progress by making credit score costlier, which reduces shopper and enterprise spending. (Investopedia, Leslie Kramer, September 22, 2022). That is presently being applied on the federal stage of our authorities by the Biden administration. If states do have management over inflation, our present GOP who’s in cost in Iowa seems to be doing nothing whereas sitting on a $1.9 billion price range surplus.

Do you help elevating the minimal wage?

After all I help elevating the minimal wage; it hasn’t been raised since July 2009. Iowa Republicans have even prevented native communities from elevating their minimal wage. That is unacceptable.

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

The Republican social gathering has prevented native communities from elevating their minimal wage and has stopped public staff from collectively bargaining with the state besides on wages. Collective bargaining had been a proper since 1974 signed by then Republican Governor Robert Ray. This stripping of bargaining rights from public staff apparently didn’t embrace law enforcement officials and firemen who usually vote Republican. Republican Governor Ray believed in harmonious and cooperative relationships between public staff and the Iowa authorities and by assuring efficient and orderly operations of presidency in offering for his or her well being, security, and welfare.

There’s rising scrutiny towards regulation enforcement nationally, statewide, and regionally. Do you’re feeling that the scrutiny is justified?

My son is a police officer in southern Arizona who I’m very happy with. Law enforcement officials have a tough job, and we’re asking an excessive amount of of them. Douglas County deputy Dan Brite of Colorado states it greatest, “Legislation enforcement isn’t outfitted to deal with the big quantity of psychological well being calls that we get, so it’s time we create these co-responder applications to assist fight psychological well being in a way more efficient approach, giving them direct entry to sources.” DeWitt has a brief time period peer-run respite psychological well being facility. It’s a begin in the suitable course. Nonetheless, in Iowa for long run psychological well being care there are solely two beds for each 100,000 residents, and the nationwide common is twelve. We are able to and must do higher. It will assist our psychological well being downside whereas saving cash by getting remedy in a psychological well being facility for the particular person in disaster as a substitute of locking them up in jail or jail which is costlier.

What do you consider to be the #1 public security problem in Iowa at this time?

Healthcare is the primary security problem in Iowa. We simply had a pandemic that took over 10,000 lives in Iowa. A few of these deaths have been most probably avoidable. Iowa can rank in a different way in healthcare relying on which article or journal you learn. After reviewing a number of articles I attempted to find out Iowa’s common rating in healthcare. In response to US Information, Iowa is ranked #20 nationally. We are able to do higher. In response to Becker’s Hospital Evaluation 2022, Iowa ranks nineteenth nationally with 153 main care physicians per 100,000 residents. We even have one of many highest ageing populations within the nation making it pressing for Iowa to draw and retain physicians. We should always do extra when it comes to mortgage forgiveness for docs who come right here and reside in Iowa. We may additionally wish to look right into a medical malpractice cap to entice docs right here. Iowa is only one of 16 states that don’t have a medical malpractice cap.

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