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Name: Ann Howell
City: Colfax
Office sought: Iowa House District 29
Occupation:
Education: Paralegal studies, Kansas City
Elected offices held: Iowa House District 29, Jan. 2017-present
1. Reintroduce yourselves to Jasper County voters, and explain why you want to serve in the Iowa Senate.
Who counts? You count!
I’m Ann Howell and I ask for your vote for state representative. Briefly, I live in Colfax with my husband Richard. We’ve been together for 19 years, raised four kids and have six grandchildren. I attended a faith-based school and went to paralegal studies in Kansas City. Public service and patriotism run deep in my family. I ask for thoughts and prayers for my daughter-in-law, Kelsay, who is currently deployed overseas in the U.S. Army.
We share common values of fairness and an understanding of the difference between right and wrong.
As your state representative, I will be accountable and accessible to you. This grassroots campaign has been steadfast in a true belief YOU count not money should make the difference. It’s time for a change from the years of the same self-important individuals capitalizing on your land and money?
2. The privatization of Iowa's Medicaid system has been plagued with administrative issues and created problems for patients and providers seeking reimbursement for services. Do you see a path forward for managed-care, or do you favor a return to the state-run Medicaid system?
In the fallout of Democrats’ efforts to socialize medicine, we must continue efforts to reform Medicaid and provide Iowans more options. The federal “Affordable Health Care Act,” or Obamacare, was anything but affordable. It did little to guarantee services to Iowans or to keep health care costs competitive. Working people paid more and everyone ended up worse for it. It put states like Iowa in dire straits requiring unsustainable expansion of Medicaid.
Yes, there are problems with what we’ve got now. Many working families are paying more per month for health insurance than their mortgage. These same working families pay for health insurance for my opponent’s family and his colleagues in the legislature. Clearly, we need bipartisan efforts to fix this mess, and it’s still a mess. It’s time for working Iowans to come first. We can provide our seniors and working families with quality health care options by establishing a patient-centered, free market-based system. We cannot compromise the patient-physician relationship, particularly in rural communities like ours, with unsustainable-government-run-bureaucracy.
3. Has being on the campaign trail changed or altered your perspective on any one issue? If so, explain.
My campaign volunteers and supporters are proud of our grassroots campaign. We’ve read much about the obscene amounts of money dumped into local campaign accounts. Weren’t you shocked to discover over $650,000 was spent by the Iowa Democratic Party to elect our state senator for four years? The same union bosses and lobbyists have funded my opponent’s campaigns. They have expectations of him that have nothing to do with you. I will fight for you and protect your checkbook like I do my own.
4. What do you see as the biggest issues facing constituents in your district? If elected, how will you address these issues?
Jasper County families put their kids first and care deeply about their educations.
Our state budget reflects Iowa's priorities. Thanks to Gov. Reynolds and Republican legislators, school funding is at an all-time high. Also, by setting funding levels early in the session, we provide predictability and stability that administrators, school boards and teachers need. Even with school funding at adequate, stable, and dependable levels, my opponent and his fellow Democrats cry for more of your money. They never acknowledge the need to empower our local school districts with the ability to spend and make cuts at the local level. Decision-makers in Des Moines don't know the needs of our students as well as the teachers in the classroom.
That’s why I’ll work closely with school boards, superintendents and other officials to craft a flexibility plan that will benefit every district. We must loosen the strings that tie the hands of our local educators and parents.
5. U.S. Tariffs on some imported goods have caused American trading partners, specifically China, to retaliate with counter-tariffs — shrinking markets for Iowa crop and livestock producers. The Des Moines Register reported in September, Iowa farmers could lose $2.2 billion in the trade dispute. What is your position on the Trump Administration's farmer bailout, and what would you tell Washington lawmakers about a potential looming crisis?
Agriculture is the cornerstone of Iowa’s economy. Farming, ag-research, ag-related manufacturing and biofuel production have kept Iowa’s unemployment rate low, at 2.5 percent. Working with local farmers to keep agriculture strong is a high priority. Maintaining the status quo on international trade is not in Iowa’s best interests. Our President has made good on his promise to put “America First” by renegotiating outdated, unbalanced trade agreements, many of which were not in our favor before the ink dried.
While the White House implements a plan to ensure our farmers don’t bear the brunt of illegal retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Mexico, and other trade partners, all efforts must be made at the State Capitol to further strengthen agriculture. We must protect farmers from unfair regulations, strengthen our rural communities, and reward farmers who voluntarily support clean water efforts right here in Iowa, while Washington ensures our farmers will get the best deal possible.
6. The first medical cannabis dispensary owned by MedPharm is slated to open this year in Iowa. Do you favor expanding the new medical cannabis law to approve cannabinoid oil for use with more medical conditions? Does Iowa's current law go far enough to allow patients access?
The Iowa Legislature has failed repeatedly over the last five years to put together effective cannabinoid legislation. Sure, bills have been passed, and some have even been signed into law. But these bills have failed to establish a working policy.
Legislators who have supported these flawed bills scored political points but gave false hope to patients and led to further frustration and unnecessary suffering for Iowans with a variety of ailments, many of them children. Politicizing this issue is shameful.
Solutions are possible. We must empower medical professionals and their patients, not legislators, to make the right decisions about cannabinoid use.
First, we must monitor federal cannabinoid policies because they often contradict state efforts. Also, the dispensary system established by recent legislation is in its’ infancy. Success or failure depends on MedPharm’s profit margin. Legislators must watch these factors closely to establish workable cannabinoid legislation, and finally, putting medicine into the hands of sick kids and adults.
7. Iowa's total tax revenue increased by 4 percent since July 2017, compared to 1.6 percent growth in the same time period the year prior. That's due to an automatic increase in Iowa tax withholdings after federal income tax cuts. The legislature will be phasing out federal deductibility for 2019 to return revenue increases to normal levels. With Iowa's coffers strained causing mid-year budget cuts, is this still a good strategy? How will this affect public school SSA, funding for mental health and water quality initiatives in Iowa?
As a Legislator, I will fight for a balanced state budget. We simply cannot spend more than we take in. A sustainable state budget lessens the tax burden on working families while providing adequate services for our most vulnerable Iowans.
Republicans took bold steps when they reduced revenue by $2.1 billion over the next six budget years, ended federal deductibility and reduced both individual and corporate income taxes. I applaud these efforts. They must continue.
Responsible tax reform strengthens small, local businesses and helps attract quality employers to our rural communities while keeping more dollars where they belong, in the pockets of hard-working Iowans.
My opponent stood against working families and local businesses when he voted against these efforts. His answer for everything is to throw money at it. For example, he’s been outspoken in his desire to raise the state sales tax to pay for enforcement of water quality restrictions on farmers. This is a misguided approach. I will put working families first.