OTTUMWA — Two political newcomers will square off against each other in November in the newly-formed House District 80.

Both Democrat Joe Judge of Albia and Republican Larry Sheets of rural Moulton argue they can deliver a change for good in Des Moines.



Joe Judge

Not sitting on the sidelines and hoping to create that change for the state prompted Joe Judge to run for office.

The Albia High School history and government teacher said he is motivated to serve House District 80 residents and their needs — specifically jobs and education.

“Families need good jobs and we need to provide a world-class education for our students,” he said.

He said the two issues go hand-in-hand and said legislators and Iowans must be goal-oriented when it comes to definining what we want to see in educating our students in the future.

Those goals, Judge said, will help legislators craft a better way to fund school districts and provide the tools and resources needed to make education more efficient and effective.

Judge also some legislators are too distracted with partisan bickering, political posturing and focused on wedge issues.

“They are not fighting for their districts back home,” he said.

Judge said he also wants to provide effective leadership in Des Moines by being a pragmatist and not an idealogue.

And it also means compromising on issues that have thus far divided legislators on the right and the left.

“Politics is about the art of compromising,” he said. “Democrats have good ideas, Republicans have good ideas. The key is being able to incorporate those good ideas ... I want to create a climiate [in Des Moines] where we build consensus.”

And that consensus could mean finding ways to best serve Iowans without alienating the other side.

Judge said the lack of consensus at the Statehouse has hurt Iowans.

He said the state has a $1.1 billion surplus including a large “rainy-day” fund, but politicians cannot decide when to dip into that fund, even during difficult economic times in last few years, because they believe compromise is somehow a dirty word.

“We need consensus building ... and reach across the aisle to get things done,” Judge said. “Last year, did anything get done [in Des Moines]?”



Larry Sheets

Jobs, taxes and the overall economy is the main focus of Larry Sheets’ campaign.

“I’ve done a lot of doorknocking ... jobs and careers are on almost everyone’s minds,” he said.

Sheets, a veteran engineer, businessman, educator and farmer, said Iowa legislators must address property taxes, both commercial and residential, if the state is to attract more business and industry.

“Iowa has the highest property tax rate of any state with an income tax (Texas, Wyoming and New Hampshire have higher rates but have no income taxes),” Sheets said. “The corporate tax rates for Iowa are the highest in the nation at 12 percent ... that’s something that has been addressed.”

And regulations that “burden” businesses in the state must be cut back and/or eliminated in some cases if companies are to grow and create jobs.

“In the way [U.S. Sen.] Grassley was able to go against the EPA (dust control) at the federal level, we need to do that in Des Moines,” he said.

Sheets also contends that if elected, he and other state legislators must put pressure on the federal government in curtailing such regulations.

Sheets, who has served on his local school board, is also concerned about giving small school districts more control in how they spend their dollars.

“Today, we have a situation of where schools are being lost totally ... the problem is with authority on how money should be spent being taken away from local school boards,” he said.

He said allowable growth percentages for school districts have fluctuated over the last few years from 4 percent, to zero percent, to 1-2 percent. That uncertainty impacts districts, Sheets said, especially small rural districts.

“I don’t expect to walk into that Statehouse to know everything about school budgeting. I just don’t want smaller, rural schools to have such a disadvantage [compared to larger districts],” Sheets said.

Finally, the candidate said after talking with constituents in the district, he believes many of them feel that “there is a general unease by citizens of the federal government.

“The federal government is viewed more and more as a lawless institution, and I’m really concerned the federal government is becoming too heavy-handed,” Sheets said.

As a state legislator, he hopes he and others will be able to stand together and tell the feds that their efforts are “constitutionally wrong.

“I’m going to try and uphold the U.S. and Iowa constitutions,” he said.

District 80 is comprised entirely of Appanoose and Monroe counties as well as the western half of Wapello County and the eastern half of Mahaska County.