Name: Jennifer Smith, Republican
Office/District: State Senate District 50
Hometown: Dubuque
Profession: Professor of Economics
Why running for office: “There’s a couple of things. I’m worried about the direction of the area. I don’t think Dubuque County is being represented anymore, or the city of Dubuque. I’ve been watching and as I’ve been here, the values of Dubuque and what we’re looking for have changed a bit. The current representation is no longer representing Dubuque. I moved to Dubuque about 11 years ago. Dubuque and the state of Iowa have been very welcoming to me. I actually feel like I’m home now. And, because as much as they’ve given me, I feel like it is now time for me to give back.
“I’m really concerned about education. As an educator, I’m concerned as to what our students are learning. I want to make sure that the teachers are able to teach what they feel is most important and be able to actually teach our students. I think there’s been too much government oversight and government intervention. We need to allow our teachers to actually teach. So, that’s a concern of mine.
“I’m also very much into life issues. And this is on both ends of the spectrum, not just for the unborn. I’m concerned about it both for the unborn as well as for end-of-life decisions. As an economist, I’m concerned about workforce development. Our low unemployment rate is wonderful, but now we’ve got the issue of not having enough workers to fill the jobs we’ve got. One of the things I want to look at is how do we get our college students to stay in the state of Iowa and Dubuque. We’re educating, now let’s use them. Let’s use their abilities.”
Facebook: Jennifer Smith for Iowa
Website: Smith for Iowa
Democrat Sen. Pam Jochum is seeking re-election. Smith will square off with Jochum in the general election as neither has a primary challenge.
