Meet the candidates running for Iowa’s 14th Senate District in Waukee, WDM

Democratic Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott and Republican Mark Hanson are vying to represent the 14th Senate District.

Iowa Senate District 14 includes Waukee, Adel, Van Meter, and parts of West Des Moines and Clive in Dallas County.

Trone Garriott of West Des Moines is seeking re-election to a third term. Hanson currently serves on the Dallas County Board of Supervisors.

To help voters, the Des Moines Register sent questions to all the federal and Des Moines Area candidates running this year. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The elections will be held on November 5.

Who is Mark Hanson?

Age: 67

Party: Republican

Where I grew up: I grew up in Rosemount, Minnesota, a small town just 15 miles south of the Twin Cities. My connection to Iowa began when I married my wife, an Iowa native and graduate of Dallas Center-Grimes High School and ISU. We met while living in California, but chose to build a life in Iowa and raise our two sons because of its great public schools, safe communities, strong economic opportunities, and exceptional quality of life.

Current place of residence: Waukee

Education: I graduated with honors from Minnesota State University at Mankato with a bachelor’s degree and earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) certification from the American Society of Association Executives.

Occupation: For the past 19 years, I have represented the citizens of Dallas County as a County Supervisor on the Board of Supervisors. I have also served as Executive Director of the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Vice President of Membership for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, and Executive Director of the Association at Smith Bucklin in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Political experience and civic activity: I have been honored to serve as Dallas County Supervisor since 2005 and have helped lead the county through extraordinary growth. Dallas County remains one of the fastest growing and best managed counties, and the county’s property taxes remain among the lowest in the state. I serve on the boards of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance, the Dallas County Historical Preservation Commission, New Opportunities, and the North Raccoon River Watershed Management Coalition. I am a member of the Lutheran Church of Hope, serving as a youth leader for Hope Kids since 2004.

Who is Sarah Trone Garriott (incumbent)?

Age: 46

Party: Democrat

Where I grew up: I grew up in Cloquet, a small paper town in northern Minnesota.

Current place of residence: West Des Moines

Education: I have a BA in history from the College of St. Scholastica, a MA in divinity from Harvard Divinity School, and a MA in theology from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. I completed a year of pastoral residency as a hospital chaplain at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Occupation: I am a state senator for the 14th Senate District, the interfaith coordinator for the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network, and a minister of the Lutheran Church (ELCA).

Political experience and civic activity: As a state senator since 2020, I have served on the following Senate committees: Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services (Ranking Member), Natural Resources and Environment, and Rules and Administration. I am not a career politician, but I have been active as a community member, a nonprofit and faith community leader, and a parent of two public school students.

What would be the most important question for you if you were elected?

Hanson: Iowans can count on me to work hard on the issues that matter to people. My top priority is to help Iowa families and ensure that our state continues to provide a promising future for the next generation. I will advocate for policies that strengthen Iowa’s education system, economy and way of life. We must ensure that our public schools are strong, teachers are valued, tax burdens are reduced, communities are safe, health care, mental and behavioral health services are better accessible, and Iowa’s seniors are better supported. Most importantly, I will listen to all Iowans, advance their priorities, and serve as their voice.

Throne Garriott: As a state senator, my number one priority is to ensure that Iowans have a voice in state government. I am known for being present and accessible: knocking on doors year-round, showing up in the community, responding to emails, and answering phone calls. Through social media, my legislative newsletter, and local press, I am transparent about the details of the legislative session and how Iowans can play an active role. When Iowans share their stories and concerns, I take it to heart and include them in the legislative process. Legislation that comes from the people serves our state best.

What actions would you support to improve Iowa’s education system?

Hanson: Education is the foundation of our communities and the cornerstone of a thriving economy. The quality of Waukee schools was a primary reason we moved to raise our family 24 years ago. As the son of public school teachers, I care deeply about the quality of education in Iowa and believe that supporting our public schools is paramount to improving the lives of all students and communities. I will advocate for education by supporting policies to reduce class sizes, improve student achievement, reward teachers with competitive salaries, and provide Iowa students with the best opportunities in the nation to learn and grow.

Throne Garriott: As a state senator, I have demonstrated my commitment to public education through policy and action. I have advocated for full funding of our public schools, education policies that respect the expertise of our educators, investments in pre-K and quality, affordable early childhood care/education, affordable post-secondary education, and job training. When another senator accused teachers of “sinister intent,” I redistricted so I could defeat him. When the governor pushed for private school vouchers and dismantled Area Education Agencies, I listened to Iowans and stood up for their concerns at every opportunity.

What do you think Iowa’s tax policy should be? Do you think the state’s priority should be lowering rates or spending money on services for Iowans?

Hanson: As a state, we must continue to find ways to help Iowa’s working families and provide Iowans with tax relief while promoting policies that create jobs, support high-quality schools, provide better access to mental health services, and support public safety and law enforcement. I am committed to common sense leadership and policies that will ensure Iowa is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. We must make Iowa more competitive by enacting property tax reform to keep families in the state and attract new businesses to start or move here.

Throne Garriott: The state’s priority should be to focus on tax policies that benefit as many Iowans as possible. While the wealthy and corporations have seen big gains, working families like mine have seen no discernible gains from the state’s recent tax policy. But we see our local schools struggling, roads and bridges crumbling, public safety understaffed, rivers and lakes untouchable, and rising costs for everything from food to housing to health care. Meanwhile, the tax burden is shifting to property taxes: This spring, Dallas County residents were shocked when supervisors significantly raised property taxes for the coming year, adding 61.5 cents to the rate.

What actions would you support to improve school safety in Iowa?

Hanson: I will prioritize school safety and work on additional safety measures. This includes policies for increased mental health support, building upgrades, threat assessments, safety plans, and incident command exercises. I encourage continued collaborative task forces between educators, leaders, parents, law enforcement, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Department of Education, and the Department of Homeland Security/Emergency Management to continue to improve safety standards. Nothing is more important than providing a safe learning and working environment for students and teachers. One of our constitutional mandates is the safety of our people, and I will work to improve that in the best way possible.

Throne Garriott: As a state senator, I have advocated for policies that provide mental health resources in schools, increase the number of caring, qualified adults in buildings, and provide high-quality early childhood education that has been shown to improve long-term social/behavioral/mental health outcomes. We can prevent violence before it happens if we have the resources to identify and intervene before it’s too late. With a nearly $3 billion surplus, our state has the resources to reduce class sizes, provide more mental health supports in public school buildings, and provide children with the support they need in their early years.

Iowa’s six-week “fetal heartbeat” abortion ban is now in effect. What next steps do you think the Iowa Legislature should take on abortion?

Hanson: The Legislature will need to listen, learn, and evaluate the impact of this new law on the lives of women, families, and health care workers. This is a sensitive and deeply personal issue for many people—one that requires a compassionate and balanced approach that upholds women’s rights but also recognizes the value of human life. I believe the best approach includes exceptions for women who face devastating decisions, makes in vitro fertilization treatment available, expands access to information, services, and contraception for women, and improves the quality and availability of prenatal care.

Throne Garriott: The Republican majority in the Iowa Legislature must do this year what it has failed to do before: listen to the public and health care providers, and respect our rights. These politicians have forced themselves into deeply personal, private health care decisions by banning abortions before most women even know they are pregnant. This abortion ban does not use accurate medical terms and leaves doctors with no guidance on when they can intervene to save lives and prevent harm. Iowa already has the fewest obstetrician-gynecologists per capita in the country, and our infant and maternal mortality rates are rising. Extreme abortion bans like this one have been shown to make these problems worse.

Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached by email at [email protected] or by X at @pslifeisabeauty.