David Dow is running for the Republican nomination in Iowa Senate District 5. Here are his answers to The Iowa Standard’s 2022 Republican Primary Legislative Survey:
GENERAL QUESTIONS:
- Describe your worldview and how that will influence you as a legislator:
As a legislator, I look to the Bible first, then the constitution.
- In your opinion, what are the three most pressing issues the legislature should address:
Education reform, including ESA’a
Freedom: medical and property rights
Maintaining Voter Integrity
- Feel free to explain your ideal tax policy/policies for Iowa (included in this section in order to allow for as much flexibility as possible):
Flat tax with a minimum of $250 per adult each year. The only deductions would be for children. Or sales tax only.
4. Have you or will you sign The Big Family Pledge:
YES
FREE MARKET:
- Do you believe the government should force consumers to buy a product:
No, this includes medical interventions.
- Do you believe the government should force retailers to sell a product:
No, this includes types of fuel.
- Do you support reforming or eliminating Iowa’s Certificate of Need laws:
Yes
- Do you support periodic reviews of all government licenses and boards to ensure they’re necessary:
Yes
LIFE:
- Do you support the Protect Life Amendment to the Iowa Constitution:
Yes
- When do you believe life begins and at what stage does it deserve protections under the law:
Life begins at fertilization/conception and ends at natural death.
EDUCATION:
- Would you support universal Education Savings Accounts for Iowa families:
Absolutely!!! This would be the fastest and most effective way to improve the education of Iowa’s next generation.
- Do you believe obscene materials and pornographic materials belong in public school libraries:
NO!
- In what grade should schools begin providing instruction to students on sexual orientation and gender identity:
Government schools should stick to reading, writing and arithmetic.
- Would you support a bathroom bill in Iowa, which states biological males use the boys’ bathroom and biological females use the girls’ bathroom:
Yes
LGBTQ:
- Should gender identity be stripped out of the Iowa Civil Rights code:
Yes
- Should Iowa make it illegal for minors to undergo sex-change surgery and treatments:
Yes
- Should Iowa schools/teachers ask students for preferred pronouns:
No
- Should Iowa require schools/teachers to share a child’s “preferred pronoun” and/or “gender identity” with the child’s parent(s)/guardian(s):
Yes, I would prefer this decision be made at the district level.
- Do you support banning conversion therapy (making it illegal for a parent to take a child to a health care professional to talk about confusion as it relates to sexual orientation or gender identity)?
NO. Parents are a better judge of what is best for the child, not the state.
COVID RELATED:
- Do you believe any institution – whether private or governmental – should be able to mandate a vaccination?
Under no circumstances should any institution be able to mandate any medical intervention.
- How could the Iowa legislature have handled the COVID pandemic differently?
In 2021, the Iowa legislature should have redefined the conditions that governor can institute emergency powers, the limits of the power, and the length of time that the powers can be used for.
- Do you believe Iowa should reform the Governor’s emergency powers?
YES! The governor does not have the authority to suspend the Bill of Rights. Emergency powers should last no more than 15 days. The legislators should define the conditions that the governor can institute emergency powers.
CLOSING QUESTIONS:
- Are there any issues of disagreement you have with the Republican Party of Iowa platform from 2018?
- What improvements, if any, would you make to Iowa’s voting laws to ensure elections are fair and full of integrity?
We need to do more audits of the voting, so we can identify where our vulnerabilities are. I would prefer having small voting precincts (less than 1,000) with hand counting of paper ballots.
IOWA SENATE DISTRICT 2:
State Sen. Dave Rowley has not yet responded to our survey. He is the other Republican running in the district.
