Election Central Questionnaire: Iowa House District 28: Jon Thorup

Name: Jon Thorup

City: Knoxville

Office sought: State Representative, Iowa House District 28

Occupation: Iowa State Trooper

Education:

Elected offices held:

1. What do you see as the biggest issues facing constituents in your district? If elected, how will you address this issue? 

The biggest issue at present is the need for improvement of the mental health situation. Please see my answer to question #3.

2. How would you address the state's Medicaid crisis? Problems, including late payments, have led one MCO to pull out of Iowa and another said it can no longer accept new customers. Several prominent Democratic lawmakers have called for the state to go back to the previous system, which was run by the state of Iowa. Do you believe there's an opportunity to return to the state-run system, or does the state need to find a way to make the MCO-based system work? Do you believe the system is working effectively for rural Iowans?

I’m confident that the current plan is not working. This issue needs to be taken up in the very next session because people are suffering.

Now, as far as what solution we will end up with, it’s entirely too early to say. It’s impossible to predict where one hundred representatives and fifty senators will end up on the simplest of issues, let alone an issue of this magnitude.

Health care providers are telling me that the MCO model might work if there was much more transparency and oversight. I would suspect that we might go in that direction before completely going back to the “state-run” model.

3. Sweeping mental health legislation passed in the state of Iowa this year. The legislation calls for the creation of six community-based resource centers to be located across the state. Despite this progress, many of the state's rural residents don't have ready access to health care services, particularly for mental health. Is this a concern for you, and if so, how would you address it if elected? 

It certainly is a concern. Although the mental health legislation passed this year was a very large first step, one must not forget that a first step must be followed upon by a second step, and a third, and so on. It’s imperative that we follow up with more effort and more solutions.

Indeed, access points are important, but there need to be more actual beds. We might need more than six access points. Having said that, I think it wise to see how the first six do, and then we can expand or readjust as needed.

4. Earlier this year the Senate considered a law that would allow "Constitutional Carry" in Iowa. If passed, this law would have allowed Iowans to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. It would have also loosened restrictions on the sale of firearms in the state. Some Senators have said they plan to take up the issue when the next legislative session begins. Do you support this legislation? Why or why not?

While I am a strong supporter of The 2nd Amendment, I stop short of “permitless” carry. In my twenty years as a state police officer, I have seen that safety training is important when it comes to firearms. I think that it’s reasonable to require a basic safety course to receive a permit to carry.

5. Gov. Reynolds signed a water quality bill into law this session responding to calls to provide funding to the state's voluntary nutrient reduction strategy, incentivizing farmers to use cover crops, terracing and no-till farming to reduce the amount of run-off from Iowa's farms going into lakes, rivers and streams. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the law for redirecting money for existing programs instead of creating new revenue, while some in the Ag-industry and environmental community think there is not enough money for farmer education and oversight. Do you think Iowa needs to invest more in water quality to fix this issue? Do you think the state should provide more oversight or guidance to ensure nutrient reduction is being implemented properly?

I think water quality is an issue that is akin to mental health in the following way: Neither of these issues can be fixed with one or two “quick and easy” changes in Iowa code or appropriation levels. Both of these issues will require a multitude of adjustments in a wide variety of policies.

That answer might sound like a politician’s answer; a non-specific and nebulous answer. So let me give you at least one specific adjustment that we could consider.

I think that state government should look itself in the mirror and ask if they too are contributing to the water quality problem. Although it might not be the largest contributor to water quality problems, consider our ice removal from Iowa’s highways. For decades, we have been dumping huge amounts of salt and calcium chloride on our roadways. After it has melted the ice, all of that stuff goes right into our ditches and waterways. I’m not suggesting that we stop deicing our roads; I’m suggesting that we use better methods to deice our roads.

Other states are using different products that cost less, work better, and dump less corrosive material into the water table.

Side benefit — some of these newer products won’t corrode your car as much either. Who doesn’t want less rust on their car?