URBANDALE, Iowa — With the primary coming up in June, Local 5 sat down with Jason Menke and Larry McBurney, the Democrats running for the Iowa House District 44 seat.
Both Menke and McBurney have experience in public office. Menke’s served as a board of education member and McBurney has served on city council.
Here’s a breakdown of each candidate's top three priorities.
Public education is a priority for both Menke and McBurney.
For Menke, it’s his number one priority. He’s currently on the Urbandale School Board.
“We need folks who understand public education, who have sat at board tables, who have made difficult decisions,” Menke said.
If elected, he’d push for more funding for AEAs and schools in general and increasing mental health support for staff and students also makes his list.
Mental health is McBurney’s number one priority.
“I’m a veteran. I was diagnosed with PTSD after my second deployment. I’ve been through our system and it’s evident that we have the last in the nation mental healthcare system," he said.
If elected, he’d work to set up better telehealth in rural Iowa especially for veterans, which would also tie to expanding broadband access.
Reproductive healthcare is Menke’s next priority. He voiced concern over the state’s OBGYN shortage.
“So if we can protect reproductive freedom here in Iowa, we are going to make ourself a much more attractive place for OBGYN’s and other maternity specialists," he said.
Menke plans on working on bills that protect access to contraception and maternal healthcare. He added that he'd like to see a legislative push that would allow Iowans to codify the right to reproductive healthcare.
LGBTQ+ rights is McBurney’s second priority. He said Iowa is not welcoming for queer people.
“My daughter is a member of the LGBTQ community. She’s turning 18 on May 2, she’ll graduate May 19, and then she’s leaving the state," he said.
McBurney vowed to fight against anti-LGBTQ+ bills and spoke out against book bans that he says target the LGBTQ+ community. McBurney wants to put banned LGBTQ+ books back in schools.
Additionally, he wants to set up separate systems, beyond state-run programs like Medicare, that make it easier for trans Iowans to access the healthcare they need. He says that it's difficult for transgender Iowans to access healthcare like hormone therapy under Medicare especially.
According to the ACLU of Iowa, in 2021, a court ruled that Iowa's practice of denying transgender people coverage of medically-necessary gender-affirming surgery through Medicaid is unconstitutional.
Menke says his number three priority would be protecting our seniors living in elder care facilities.
"We are not meeting our obligation in making sure that the healthcare facilities that are licensed to operate in the state are inspected in a timely manner and that's creating a number of health and safety issues for those residents," he said.
Menke plans on working on bills that protect the elderly living in these facilities. He wants long-term care facilities to be better monitored, inspected, and regulated. He wants to increase funding towards inspections as well.
McBurney’s third priority would be the education system. He hopes to increase its funding.
Menke is a Drake University graduate with a degree in journalism and mass communications. He's worked in communications for a variety of Iowa industries including healthcare, health insurance, higher education, finance, and agriculture.
McBurney was in the international guard for 12 years and was deployed three times. He worked for Wells Fargo for over 12 years.
McBurney and his wife also started a nonprofit called The Filipino American Society, which helps Filipino immigrants with basic needs like clothing and transportation.