Meet the candidates running for the open Iowa House District 22 seat in Norwalk, Cumming

Three candidates are vying for the open Iowa House District 22 in Warren County.

Republicans Samantha Fett and Garrett Gobble will face off in the June primary to represent Iowa House District 22, which includes Norwalk, Carlisle, Cumming and Martensdale. The winner will face Democrat Rory D. Taylor in November.

The candidates are competing for the seat left open by former House Rep. Stan Gustafson, who had represented the district for a decade until his announcement last year that he would not seek reelection in the 2024 race.

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.

More: Everything you need to know about the June 4 primary election, including voting absentee

Who is Samantha Fett?

Age: 44

Party: Republican

Where did you grow up: Orland Park, Illinois

Current town of residence: Carlisle

Education: Drake University, Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications/marketing and advertising

Occupation: Marketing executive

Political experience and civic activities:

• Regional senior ambassador, Inspired-Life, advocating for educational freedom in Iowa

• Moms for Liberty — Warren County, fighting for parental rights at all levels of government

• Grassroots advocacy and ambassador for school choice, 2023

• Supporter of nonprofit to protect the unborn

• Carlisle school board member 2019-2021

• Warren County Central Committee member

Who is Garrett Gobble?

Age: 29

Party: Republican

Where did you grow up: Danville, Iowa

Current town of residence: Norwalk

Education: 

• Associate of Arts — Southeastern Community College, West Burlington, Iowa

• Bachelor of history with a minor in political science — University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

Occupation: Civic and community engagement coordinator, Iowa Jobs for America's Graduates

Political experience and civic activities: State representative for Ankeny — 2021-2023

Who is Rory D. Taylor?

Age: 63

Party: Democrat

Where did you grow up: Bevington, Iowa

Current town of residence: Norwalk

Education: Bachelor's from Iowa State University — major in history and minor in political science

Occupation:

• Truck driver, Graybar Electric

• Retired from United Airlines

Political experience and civic activities:

• Served on City Council Bevington, Iowa

• Boy Scout leader for the past 20 years

• Cumming American Legion Post 562

• Member of the Honor Guard

What would be your top issue should you be elected?

Fett: Education reform remains a top issue for Iowans. I believe it's time for an educational revival that will lead our next generation to success. Our education system should be focused on discovering and developing passions, teaching, and honing skills, and applying them in the real world and that’s done by getting back to teaching fundamentals. I will work on policies that continue to focus on all students reaching their potential through measurable objective achievements and expanding and enhancing the supply of creative education. The work has begun at the state level, so now it's time to keep that momentum going because Iowans want the best learning opportunities for their children.

Gobble: Education. As a former teacher and a parent, ensuring the best schools for our children is my top priority. We need to focus on curriculum that will better prepare students for life after school, whether that be a career or higher education. We need to better handle behavior issues in our schools as well, to make sure that our students are in an environment to succeed.

Taylor: Iowa’s education system would be my top issue. Appropriately addressing the system’s budget, a system that was once ranked at the top of the country, but has plummeted to the lower tier. No wonder our youthful generation graduating today from high school and college in Iowa are leaving the state because they do not see a future in this state. They see how low-income families are struggling to make ends meet and feed their children while the governor turns away federal funds to feed children during the summer months and turns away federal funds to assist needy families with child care expenses.

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

Fett: Iowa values education so we need to improve options available, tailoring education to diverse needs of families and students by removing cumbersome regulation for school startups and alternative learning models. The purpose of education should be more than an assembly line to a four-year institution. Too many educational standards are directed from the federal level and focus needs to return to objective achievement and grading, as opposed to subjective standards-based grading. The trades need to be emphasized and common core is not producing proficient results. Additionally, solutions for classroom behavior management are long overdue to ensure focus in schools returns to learning.

Gobble: I would advocate for more classroom management training in our teacher education programs so that our teachers are equipped to handle any behaviors that may arise in their classroom. I would also make sure that our school priorities would focus on the basics like math, writing, science, and civics without straying into issues that are best taught by parents.

Taylor:

• Community approach to school safety.

• Robust teacher training supported with professional development.

• Library Freedom Act — policies/legislation that serves diversity of thought and views and reinstates literary works that have been caught in the culture wars of today’s times and that have been banned as offensive, without true regard for literacy significance and their dynamic teachings in history.

• Repeal the private voucher program. Public funds should not be used to fund private schools.

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?

Fett: While the federal government continues to attempt to spend us out of economic distress, our state budgeting practices have allowed us to provide tax relief to all Iowans. I support Gov. Reynolds' plan toward a flat tax rate on taxable income. Iowans work hard and should retain as much of their income as possible. That only makes sense if we want to see a thriving economy. I believe the best stewards of our resources are the families that worked hard to create them. We need to continue to budget responsibly and look for more opportunities to provide tax relief at all levels of government and I will champion that effort.

Gobble: Our tax policy should be on lowering rates for all Iowans. The taxpayer relief fund is full and now we need to pass that savings to our citizens. With inflation raging right now, working families need relief to meet the needs their families.

Taylor: Who in Iowa is in need of funding assistance the most? Unquestionably, it should lead a policymaker to recognize that in today’s times it is those Iowans who have fallen behind and have been forgotten. Let’s consider tax credits and relief for the elderly — a growing segment in Iowa’s population who have contributed so much to Iowa in terms of time, service, money, and stand today to get less relief than the top end of Iowa’s socioeconomic scale. Iowa should maintain fiscal responsibility and stability while adhering to a spending plan that brings monetary relief to everyday expenses of Iowans who are in most need of assistance.

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

Fett: School safety is a multi-faceted issue that requires dedication to prioritizing safety that may look different than previous generations. Plans must include an increased presence of school resource officers, which will build a culture of safety and security for students and administrators. School safety must also address the behaviors in the classroom so teachers feel safe and can do what they do best. I also support the new Students First Safety Act that enables authorized and specially trained school employees to obtain a professional permit to carry at school, adding a layer of protection in our schools.

Gobble: I would ensure funding to provide a school resource officer in every school, partnering with county safety officials to ensure the best trained safety officers in our schools and communities.

Taylor:

• Repeal the recently enacted legislation that arms teachers with guns in the classroom.

• A “community problem-solving approach” bringing together an “army” of local retired law enforcement/military to observe/watch, listen and appropriately act to assist local law enforcement, provide security and safety enhancements to the school campus and the surrounding perimeters of the same.

• Utilize the retired law enforcement and military professionals, including social workers, psychologists and educators to provide education programming to thwart possible violence.

• Fully fund these programs and apply for federal grant funds to support and maintain these programs, with federal assistance and oversight.

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

Fett: I believe life is created on purpose and we must do what we can to protect the innocent lives of unborn children and the health of mothers. Work should continue to reach young people to expose the abortion industry and reveal the beauty of new life from the moment of fertilization. The right to life is the most basic of human rights, as enshrined in our founding documents. That we are endowed by our creator with unalienable rights, among those are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is not a coincidence that the right to life is listed first among all others. And governments are instituted by the citizens for the primary responsibility to preserve these rights.

Gobble: I believe it is the duty of the state to protect life. We need to work off of the Iowa Supreme Court's upcoming ruling to craft a policy that would protect the most children of Iowa possible. I would also advocate for explicit protections for IVF procedures in our state to help families like my own realize their dream of building their family.

Taylor: There is no intermediate step other than to ultimately repeal all legislation that has so negatively affected abortion services and women's reproductive health care in Iowa. Abortion has no place in Iowa’s politics. Abortion must be left to be a decision solely resting with a woman and her right to make decisions about her own body, without any government interference or mandates.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story included the incorrect response from a legislative candidate under the question on improving Iowa's education system. The story has been updated with the correct response.

Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at [email protected], at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet the candidates running for Iowa House District 22 in Warren County