Meet the candidates running for Iowa House District 40 in Altoona, Ankeny, Des Moines

Two candidates are running in the primary election to represent Iowa House District 40, which includes Altoona, the far northeast corner of Des Moines, a portion of southern Ankeny and sections of unincorporated Polk County, such as Norwoodville, Berwick and the area around Saydel High School.

Incumbent Republican Rep. Bill Gustoff is seeking a second term in the Iowa House. Democrat Heather Sievers also is running. Gustoff and Sievers are expected to face each other in the November general election.

To help voters, the Des Moines Register sent questions to all federal and Des Moines area legislative candidates running for political office this year. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The primary election is scheduled for June 4 ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.

Who is Bill Gustoff (incumbent)?

Age: 56

Party: Republican

Current town of residence: Des Moines

Education: Juris Doctor from University of Iowa College of Law in 1995

Occupation: Attorney

Political experience and civic activities: I have spent decades supporting and serving on boards of many nonpro?ts and being active in church leadership circles. This includes Habitat for Humanity of Iowa, Ruth Harbor Ministries, Iowa State Bar Association, Board of Trustees for a small private college in Iowa, and the Republican Party of Iowa State Central Committee (including the honor of being trusted by my peers to serve as the party’s treasurer for eight years). Serving in the Legislature is a family decision and an extension of our shared desire to serve where we can have the most impact for the people and causes we love.

Who is Heather Sievers?

Age: 38

Party: Democratic

Current town of residence: Altoona

Education: Dual master's degree in counseling psychology and nurse leadership

Occupation: Manager of Performance Improvement, UnityPoint Health for the four Des Moines hospitals focused on implementing improvement and reform in health care

Political experience and civic activities: 1. Founder of Advocates for Iowa's Children: a group of 5,300 Iowans across the state fighting for improvements in public education, teachers, students, and our Area Education Agencies that have served my own daughter with rare disabilities called Smith-Magenis Syndrome since she was 2 years old. 2. Advocate for American Civil Liberties Union fighting for reproductive freedoms and LGBTQIA rights and protections. 3. Union supporter and advocate (with a husband who is a proud union member) and recently endorsed by AFL-CIO.

What would be your top issue should you be elected?

Gustoff: Keeping Iowa on track as a national leader for its economy and protection of individual liberties, as well as ensuring it remains the best state to run a business and raise a family.

Sievers: Fighting against chronic under-funding of our public schools, shutting down harmful voucher programs that only support private schools, and fixing damage done this legislative session to our AEAs are on the top of my list. However, as a medical professional, substance abuse and mental health services are critical to expand and improve, as well as improving accessibility and affordability of all health care (including significant improvements to care for our elderly). I will also never stop protecting individual freedoms for all and advancing racial justice. Iowa used to be progressive and support diversity, caring for all people. I plan to work very hard to help restore this.

What policies would you support to improve Iowa’s education system?

Gustoff: I was very proud to lead the bill to raise starting teacher pay to the fifth highest in the nation through the Iowa House. I also worked hard to see the passage of a number of bills to better Iowa’s education system by giving parents more control over their child’s education, helping teachers regain control of classroom discipline, protecting children from indoctrination over education, and delivering record-level funding to K-12 education. Putting parents in control of their children's education, ensuring accountability in the system, and rewarding schools and teachers who are getting results for their students is the best way we can continue to improve Iowa’s education system.

Sievers: I will support policies that repeal the voucher program bill that over time will shift millions of dollars away from public schools to private schools that only serve 50,000 kids. These bills passed by the Republican Party are not "Parent Choice," they are "Private School Choice" bills that take money away from 500,000 kids served in public schools across this state. I will fight for 6%+ SSA funding that we've needed for years and our government can afford. I intend to write policies that implement nutrition and well-being programs into schools and early childhood programs and advance inclusion programs. I will help restore our AEAs.

What do you think Iowa’s tax policy should be? Do you believe the state’s priority should be on lowering rates or spending on services for Iowans?

Gustoff: Iowans overwhelmingly support continued efforts to make our tax rates as low and fair as possible and that's what we have been delivering. Iowa is a national leader in allowing hardworking taxpayers to keep more of their money while fully funding Iowans' priorities. In addition to our great work on income taxes, we need to deliver property tax relief to Iowans.

Sievers: The Republican legislation cutting income taxes to a flat rate might sound good on paper, but flat rates still allow the wealthy to have big write-off loopholes. This will create billion dollar cuts to state revenue that pay for roads, infrastructure and public services that must be paid to sustain our towns. Lower to middle income families will not feel enough of an impact on their paychecks to make up for the increases to sales and/or property taxes that will inevitably come when the one-time money bank the Republicans plan to use runs out. The rich pay the same price for an apple as the poor. When food costs go up more, Iowans will suffer. We need balanced tax reform that helps all Iowans.

What policies would you support to improve school safety in Iowa?

Gustoff: The first 30 seconds in an active shooter situation are the most critical in determining the outcome. If a shooter can't be stopped in 30 seconds, decades of historical data indicate it will almost certainly result in more than single-digit casualties. The new permit system to train and arm teachers and staff will be an effective strategy to lower response times for schools that choose to implement it. Iowa law already allowed teachers to carry firearms in schools. Our bill raises the bar on the training required to do so. No teacher or school district is required to participate in the new permit system, however, I believe doing so will lower response times and make students safer.

Sievers: We should be focusing on improving mental health, not using more violence to solve violence. Republican legislation allowing more guns after the Perry shooting is against the majority voice. I've asked my school board to vote no to allowing teachers/staff to be armed. Guns in schools is so risky that Republicans wrote in civil and criminal liability protections, meaning if a kid is accidentally killed, no one can be held accountable. Police don't even have criminal liability protections and are highly trained in use of guns. We need to focus on school security, one point of entry, scanning backpacks and ensuring people cannot get into the school with weapons. Our kids deserve better.

What next steps do you believe the Iowa Legislature should take when it comes to abortion?

Gustoff: Iowans do not believe in unrestricted abortion for any reason or at all stages of pregnancy. Our duly elected Legislature has passed laws re?ecting the will of the people, only to be struck down by unelected activist judges. Recent court decisions put this issue back where it belongs — in the hands of Iowans through their elected representatives, and the Iowa Legislature acted in special session to put back into place the same law expressing the will of the people. I am pro-life and believe in doing all we can to protect the lives of innocent unborn babies and in supporting expectant and new mothers by making adoption easier and implementing the recently enhanced MOMS bill.

Sievers: As a medical professional, I will always protect the sanctity of medical decisions being upheld in confidentiality between a doctor and the patient. National abortion rates are only 7%. Many are due to medical reasons. No one in government should decide for a woman or her family. Abortion laws reduce access to quality reproductive health care, doctors leave, women die, children are left without their mothers, women are forced to deliver babies that have no heartbeat, forced into trauma and babies born with minimal quality of life. Your body, your choice. People can choose not to have an abortion. People must be able to make their own medical decisions. Government needs to stay out of it.

Chris Higgins covers the eastern and northern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: The candidates running for Iowa House District 40 in the June 4 primary