There were about two dozen residents from Iowa’s House District 12 who attended a special “Cookout and Conversation” with Democratic candidate, Peter Leo, and Iowa State Treasurer, Mike Fitzgerald this past Saturday. Leo began the event at Great Western Park in Manning by discussing his campaign priorities, which include increasing funding for local schools, fixing Iowa’s healthcare system and seeing to it that more state economic development dollars are shared with local communities. “There is a new generation of candidates,” Leo says, “and I am proud to be a part of it—that is stepping up to fulfill the basic social contract that our society is built upon. We work hard, but we take care of one another. And as a state, we don’t leave our rural communities behind,” Leo adds. Fitzgerald, who is the longest-serving treasurer in the nation and running for a ninth term himself, says that Leo is focusing his efforts in the right areas. “Our schools have gotten, on average, a one percent raise over the last eight years, while the rate of inflation has been two to three percent,” Fitzgerald says. To ensure that our small communities thrive economically, Fitzgerald goes on to say the state needs to provide adequate funding to those schools. He adds that the cost of higher education is also a limiting factor in getting young people to return to the smaller communities when they are burdened with high debt. The pair also talked about privatized Medicaid and the unpaid services that are harming businesses and small-town healthcare organizations. Leo closed out the event by reinforcing his commitment to this election and saying he will be getting out to talk to as many voters as possible in the coming weeks. Leo is running on the Nov. 6 ticket against Republican incumbent, Brian Best.
