Jacqueline Riekena is running as a Republican for Iowa House District 42. You can learn more about her candidacy here.
- What is the proper role of government:
To protect the Constitutional Rights of Americans in their pursuit of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
2. What issues do you consider non-negotiable:
Government should be limited to protecting Americans.
I will fight to defend the rights of all Americans to pursue opportunities and fulfill their dreams.
3. What concerns do you have about how the COVID-19 situation was handled by the government, if any:
Upon hearing about the Coronavirus, President Trump wanted to ban travel from China to the US. This immediate action may have reduced the spread of COVID-19 to all 50 states. However, I feel the virus was already present in the US.
In order to slow COVID-19, it is important to find the origin to determine how the virus is transmitted. This will help in developing a vaccine to slow the progression.
Opening up America and Making America Great Again a second time to surpass economic levels before COVID-19 is going to take a concerted effort by everyone.
4. At what point do you believe a human life is guaranteed the legal protections of being an American citizen and what would you do to ensure those protections are provided?
Life begins when there is a heartbeat and ends when there is no heartbeat.
A live birth is when you become an American Citizen documented by a Birth Certificate.
5. Would you support a religious freedom and restoration act in the state of Iowa?
The government should let individuals worship according to their own beliefs.
Is it any different sitting in my car in a church parking lot worshipping versus sitting in my family living room watching the service online?
I support religious freedom until it involves female genitalia.
6. Would you support mandatory E-Verify in Iowa?
E-Verify is a great idea, but this didn’t work nor keep one Iowan woman from being murdered near Brooklyn, Iowa.
7. Would you support banning traffic cameras, why or why not?
I will 100% support a bill to ban traffic cameras.
Cities should be focused on hiring patrol officers to protect the public.
8. What, if any, measures would you support to curb gun violence?
I will support harsher penalties and mandatory sentencing to detour violent crimes from being committed.
9. What percent of the state’s budget do you believe should go toward education?
In 2018, Iowa was ranked 9th in Education by US News. While Iowans want to stay focused on providing quality education, we also want educators to have the necessary resources and facilities to provide a positive learning experience to every child. This is without underspending or overspending or raising taxes.
10. Would you support education savings accounts?
I support education savings accounts with oversight to ensure money is being spent according to guidelines.
11. What do you think of Iowa’s current tax structure?
The Iowa state tax income structure is complicated and needs to be simplified.
A tiered tax system may be a WIN-WIN for Iowa taxpayers.
Iowa has a statewide average effective property tax of 1.53% which is 0.50% higher than the national average making it the 14th highest effective rate in the country.
I will support lowering property taxes by removing line items not related to property in an effort to lower property taxes.
12. Are there any state regulations you would like to see removed?
Reduce regulations and oversight to keep from micromanaging or over managing to encourage economic growth and opportunities.
Farming is the backbone pioneer industry of Iowa. Our farmers should have equal access to water rights, grassland management, minerals and let trustees settle any disputes without state or federal surveillance.
13. What are your views on climate change and what, if anything, should the government’s role be in addressing climate change?
The US leads the world in reducing C02 emissions by 2.99% under President Trump.
Human activities have increased carbon dioxide emissions, driving up temperatures. Extreme weather and melting polar ice are side effects of Global Warming.
The warmest 4 years on record occurred in 2015-2018 as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says the world is one degree Celsius warmer than widespread industrialization.
While the US leads the world in the environment Green Movement under President Trump, I support initiatives which improves the overall Green Footprint.
14. Do you support expanding use of medical marijuana? Would you support recreational use of marijuana?
I will support medicinal marijuana use and would support expansion for certain patient types including cancer patients or those with extreme medical conditions with a prescription.
At this time, I would not support recreational use.
Iowa House District 42:
