Iowa District 2
President
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Iowa Senators
Eddie Mauro
Eddie Mauro is an insurance broker. You can find his campaign site here.
Mauro has a plan when it comes to climate change. He intends to introduce legislation to make America a net-zero CO2 emitter by 2045, and the rest of his plan outlines how he intends to reach this goal.
Mauro intends to increase funding from the federal government to renewable energy research and development. He wants to expand the economic benefits of introducing sustainable technologies in many different sectors, including agriculture and transportation, two of the major issues in Iowa. He acknowledges the role that climate change played in the flooding crisis of 2019, and how this has negatively affected farmers across the state. Mauro wants to introduce incentives to transition farmers to sustainable practices that won’t break the bank, while simultaneously working to restore wetlands and other vital ecological areas to cope with the changing climate.
Another awesome policy that Mauro supports is banning fossil fuel extraction on federal lands. This means no fracking, mining, drilling, or any other method of fossil fuel extraction in any area of a national park.
The real cincher on Mauro is his pragmatism. He acknowledges that climate change, at this point, is inevitable. He wants to upgrade and build infrastructure that reflects the change in our climate to protect the communities that are most at risk. He knows that farmers are the backbone of America, and that without the proper infrastructure and support, our failing agriculture system will snap under the weight of climate change.
Kimberly Graham
Kimberly Graham is an attorney. You can find her campaign site here.
Graham indicates that she supports creating more sustainability in two major areas of pollution: agriculture and manufacturing. She has a few points about creating incentives for farmers to decrease soil erosion and comply with more stringent clean water initiatives. Graham has suggested that she would increase anti-trust legislation, which has hurt sustainable agricultural practices in becoming widespread.
Overall, the lack of information that Graham gives is her downfall. Without platform details and with little expansion on her given endorsements, we can’t say for sure that she’s a strong candidate.
Michael Franken
Michael Franken is a retired Navy Admiral. His campaign site can be found here.
Franken does not have a solid platform for most any subject available, but the little information he does provide indicates that he has worked alongside many different governmental agencies to enforce environmental compliance issues and to facilitate new infrastructure projects. We think he has potential, but there’s just not enough information available to make an informed decision.
Theresa Greenfield
Theresa Greenfield is a real estate agent. You can find her campaign site here.
Greenfield acknowledges global warming and climate change, which is a step up from most of the Senatorial candidates. She has pledged to fight in Congress for good-paying clean energy jobs and to defend and strengthen environmental laws. She intends to stand up to the corporate special interests and wants to work towards solutions for Iowans affected by climate change, particularly flood victims, and to renovate infrastructure. She’s endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund.
Greenfield isn’t a BAD pick, she’s just a vague pick at this point.
Joni Ernst
Joni Ernst has been an incumbent since 2015, and her campaign site can be reached here.
Ernst is not what we would call a climate warrior. She has an LCV scorecard overall rating of 1 percent, but, in her defense, that score went up about 7 percent in the last year alone, so we think she may have what it takes to work across party lines. However, her voting record is one fat “screw you” to the environment. She pretty much votes party lines, which has been detrimental to Iowa in the last year, as a lot of the legislation she voted against would have been a stalwart defense for farmers during the recent bout of flooding in the spring of 2019.
As you certainly know, Iowa is an agricultural state. Y’all bring us the meat and cheese and bread we love. Ernst serves on several committees in the Senate that regulate and bring agriculture-related legislation to the rest of Congress, and her opinion MATTERS when people are voting on this legislation. Since her tenure as a Senator, she has consistently voted against protections for clean air and water. She voted with McConnell on his Coast Guard Reauthorization Act (which regulated clean water and invasive species prevention to the Coast Guard), has consistently ignored legislation to protect our prairies and farmland from fracking, and has been supporting legislation that favors coal barons.
Overall, Ernst isn’t very earnest when it comes to protecting the natural world and has consistently shown that she can’t see the damage her own political decisions have done to her state. We suggest looking elsewhere for a green and energy-forward Senator to keep Iowa from drowning in years to come.
Cal Woods
Cal Woods is a real estate agent. He does not have any information available on his stances.
Paul Rieck
Paul Rieck is a scrap metal worker. Rieck does not have an official website for his campaign, and there is no information available regarding his views on the environment or green energy.
Suzanne Herzog
Suzanne Herzog is an economist. You can find her campaign site here.
Herzog does not provide information on her stance on climate change or sustainability.
District 2 Representatives
Newman Abuissa
Newman Abuissa is a transportation engineer. You can find his campaign site here.
Abuissa has some stances on sustainability, but nothing in depth. He has a vague statement about supporting the Iowan economy through green energy infrastructure and education but offers no concrete plans. He knows that things need to change, but doesn’t offer an explanation of how or why.
Rita Hart
Rita Hart is an ex-state Senator, farmer, and an ex-teacher. You can find her campaign site here.
For an Ex-State Senator, Hart has very little to say about any issue whatsoever. Her voting record does not speak to her opinions on sustainability or environmental stewardship, showing a definite lack of action on almost everything.
Bobby Schilling
Bobby Schilling is an ex-congressman from Illinois and a businessman. You can find his campaign site here.
Schilling does not have much information in the way of solid opinions and platforms available, but from a quick perusal of his Twitter account, it’s clear that he does not respect sustainability practices or encourage environmental stewardship. His voting record from his short-lived stint as the Representative of Illinois’s 17th district leaves much to be desired, and he was quickly replaced.
Roby Smith
Roby Smith is a state Senator and a businessman. You can find his campaign site here.
Smith has served in the state Senate since 2014. His voting record is sparse. He has failed to make any lasting or defining statements about his stances on renewable energy production and implementation, agricultural sustainability, or environmental stewardship. He has voted in favor of legislation that limits access to water for testing, effectively limiting the Clean Water Act in rural communities, and letting the agricultural communities of Iowa suffer. His platform on all accounts is weak, and there is little information available.
Bob Gallagher
Bob Gallagher is the mayor of Bettendorf and an attorney. You can find his website here.
Gallagher does not have a website dedicated to his campaign and has little information available regarding his stances on different issues.
Brad Randolph
Brad Randolph is the mayor of Fort Madison and a dentist. He does not have a campaign site, and does not have any information available on his platform.
Chris Cournoyer
Chris Cournoyer is a state Senator and website developer. You can find her campaign site here.
Cournoyer has very little to say about her platform. Even her voting record is lukewarm, and doesn’t offer any real insight into her stances.
Ian Russell
Ian Russell is an attorney. You can find his website here.
Russell is a well-known attorney with less well-known opinions. He has no readily available information on his political stances.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Mariannette Miller-Meeks is a state Senator and ophthalmologist. You can find her campaign site here.
Miller-Meeks has little to say on the idea of sustainability and environmentalism. Her voting record is sparse when it comes to these issues, and she does not have any readily available information on her environmental sustainability stances.
Rick Philips
Rick Philips is an appliance repair shop owner. He does not have a campaign website, or platform information available.
Steven Everly
Steven Everly is an electrical contractor. You can find his campaign site here.
Everly does not have any information on his platform issues available.