Candidates: Iowa Senate District 28

Could you provide some background information about yourself that would help voters establish your connection to the area you are seeking to represent?

John Beard: I believe I have the skills and the character to be a strong and thoughtful voice for northeast Iowa. I want life in Iowa to be as rewarding for our children as it was for us. I’ve been building and fixing things all my life, doing tough, dirty and sometimes dangerous work. I am unafraid of mud, blood, sweat, bullies or pessimists. I have run J.W. Beard Welding & Machine for over 30 years. I am proud of my farming heritage. The farm where I am a partner in the family beef operation has been in the family for over 150 years.
I helped found and grow both Winneshiek Pheasants Forever and the Driftless Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I served on the County Conservation Board which has dramatically improved the quality of life in Winneshiek County with its strong support of the Trout Run and Prairie Farmer Trails. I am proud of the role I played in resolving a contentious land dispute so that a local trail project could go forward. Both parties to the dispute say I bring a cool head and a respectful tone to any conflict. Careful listening and consensus building are skills critically important to being an effective legislator.
I served as a State Representative (2008-2010). As I observed and learned, I carefully picked my battles and built relationships based on respect and trust. In order to be an effective legislator you must have the respect and trust of both your constituents and your colleagues. Though only a freshman, I was given the unusual honor of being vice chair of two Committees. As vice-chair of the State Government Committee, I helped preside over an effective reorganization of state government that saved over 200 million dollars and made government more efficient. As vice-chair of the Natural Resources Committee, I helped sportsmen by clarifying gun laws, reducing overly burdensome fees and protecting wildlife habitat.

Michael Breitbach: I grew up in Colesburg, a quarter-mile south of the Clayton County border. I have a degree in accounting and business from Loras College. My wife, Theresa (Fedeler), and I have been married 35 years and moved to Strawberry Point in 1980. Theresa grew up between Arlington and Wadena. We have raised our four children here.
I started a trucking company with my brother, Tim, and Roger Swales in 1984 and we also own Swales Precast, Inc. I am a partner in Smith Insurance LLC. We employ over 45 people. Our four children were raised here and I have been involved in local organizations such as the fire department, ambulance, Boy Scouts, Lion’s Club and many others.

Small, rural communities like those in northeast Iowa seem to be in a constant struggle to not just thrive, but even survive. What hope can you give to residents of these types of communities in your district to want to remain here and live their lives?

Michael Breitbach: We have had the opportunity to live almost anywhere. We chose northeast Iowa because of the people, work ethic and natural beauty of the area. I want my children to have those same opportunities, so if they want to live, raise their family, start a business or follow their career they can do it right here in Iowa. People before us made sure the infrastructure, including roads and bridges, were in place to allow business to start, survive and expand.  We must continue to provide that same infrastructure.

John Beard: Just as any business does, we need to build on our strengths and assets. Our list of assets includes rich soil, productive agriculture, natural beauty, blue-ribbon fishing and hunting, skilled, hardworking people, good schools and historical and cultural amenities. All of these “quality of life” assets put northeast Iowa in a good position to attract business because the number-one reason businesses relocate is for “quality of life”.
Among all states, Iowa ranks 17th in quality of life and 17th in cost of living, making it an attractive place to live and work. We can see proof of that in the recent move to Iowa by IBM, Google and Microsoft. We need to continue our investments to keep quality education affordable, to rebuild our transportation infrastructure and to make broadband internet more widely available.
We should add more value-added agriculture. If we grow it here we should process it here. We should encourage more local food production in order to retain more of the estimated eight billion dollars Iowans spend annually on food. Encouraging energy conservation and clean energy production creates jobs that can’t be outsourced and shows us to be forward-looking and frugal. Businesses are attracted to such communities because businesses need stability and predictability. For those reasons and for our own good we should encourage Smart Growth and Smart Planning.
Finally, we need to keep finding savings and efficiencies in state government and keep to the careful fiscal policies that led to its national recognition as a well-managed state. Iowa is already a good place to work, live and raise a family, let’s work at making it better.

What measures can be taken to ensure that the state of Iowa can weather the difficult economic times that this nation has been facing recently?

John Beard: State law wisely limits the legislature to spending 99% of revenues and no more. Our budget has to be balanced. Adding to that discipline, when I served in the legislature we cut the state budget and our own pay by 10%. Working in a bipartisan way, we gave state government its first careful scrutiny in 25 years, finding $300 million in savings and efficiencies.
Lastly, because Iowa’s economic strength depends on more than just fiscal responsibility, we must also make the investments that strengthen the middle class, preserve our priceless natural resources and keep us competitive in the global economy. For example, we must make the investments of money and thought to keep quality education affordable and to address healthcare costs.

Michael Breitbach: We can do this by being fiscally responsible, not spending more than we take in. We need property tax reform on all classes of property, without it we will see a $2 billion increase in property taxes over the next 10 years. Our commercial property tax rates are third highest in the country. This discourages expansion of existing business and hampers attracting new business to our state.

Ongoing budget cuts have forced county and city governments to tighten their belts considerably. How would you propose to balance the state budget without handing any further burdens down to lower levels of government or the citizens of this state?

Michael Breitbach: We need to decide what the function of government should be and limit it to those functions. We have been spending money in areas that government was never intended to spend money so there isn’t enough to go around for the items government must tend to. We need to make sure of a balance between city and rural areas when dividing up revenues. Government’s role isn’t to create jobs but they can provide an environment that encourages business to create jobs. Job creation increases revenues to the State, a win-win situation.

John Beard: As I stated in question three, the budget is required by law to be in balance. Our two “rainy day” funds are full and total $1.3 billion. Individuals and businesses needing services from our judicial system and county supervisors say too much has already been cut from that branch of state government. I hear similar comments from many people in education.
We all want government to be more productive and efficient, but workable solutions should be identified before cuts are made. Careless cutting can weaken both our society and our economy. American history is full of examples of how the investments we make together using the framework of government give great returns to our people and our economy.

What do you see as this state’s greatest challenge in education?

John Beard: I applaud the moves to improve early grade literacy; to increase parental involvement and to develop fair and meaningful assessments for teachers and students. I believe we must continue to reduce tuition costs at community colleges, state universities, and private colleges. I believe we should intensify STEM efforts in K-12 and teach economic literacy. Last but not least, I believe we must reduce class size to benefit both teachers and students.

Michael Breitbach: Keeping up with technology is a huge challenge. Our kids have more technology available to them than ever before. We struggle to bring that technology into the classroom and use it to our advantage. We need to provide our teachers with the tools that will help them keep pace in this rapidly changing environment.

What role can the state level of government play in helping small family farms remain operational in competition with the large corporate farming operations?

Michael Breitbach: I have come to realize that government isn’t always the answer to our problems. Most small farmers are very independent and just want government to stay out of their way. The recent changes in electrical and plumbing regulation are just a small example of government overreach. Farm programs constantly change, requiring more paper work and compliance, a little stability in the rules covering our farmers wouldn’t hurt a thing.

John Beard: Though state efforts are dwarfed by the influence of the federal Farm Bill, more could be done by state government to level the playing field between big and small. Weak regulation and enforcement of food safety and environmental laws often give large operations an unfair advantage.
The salmonella outbreak at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms are prime examples of operations that shave costs by cheating on safety and quality measures and who often cheat on labor practices. At these operations, testing for bacteria and food safety precautions were left to the operators. Vermont has made its name synonymous with high quality cheeses and maple syrup. Iowa could do the same with artisanal meats, cheeses and other high quality foods. I am proud to say I played an important role in amending and building support for legislation that encourages the production of local food. We Iowans spend an estimated $12 billion on food each year, with much of it coming from out of state and out of country. Wouldn’t it be good to keep more of those dollars at home?