Bangert and Guth to battle for District 4 Senate seat

Susan Bangert, opposing Dennis Guth for the District 4 senate seat, has done post graduate work from “Reading Institute,” Winona State University, post graduate hours from Morningside College, M.A. Speech Pathology, Truman State University, B.S, Speech Pathology, Teaching Certificate, University of Iowa, Forest City High School.
During her post academic career, Bangert has been active in: Algona Planning and Zoning Commission; North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG); American Speech Language Hearing Association; Iowa Speech Language Hearing Association; International Dyslexia Association; Great Minds Learning Center, Founder; American Association of University Women – Co-President; Lakeland Education Association – President and Lead Negotiator; National Education Association – Lifetime member; Algona Morwens Kiwanis Club; Algona Choral Society member; Algona Community Pep Band member; Cub Scout Leader; Girl Scout Volunteer; 4-H Volunteer; Trinity Lutheran Church – Sunday School teacher, choir member, former director of Little Lambs Preschool, founder and former director of Trinity After School Program for Kids (TASK).
She has held the following elective offices: American Association of University Women, President; Lakeland Education Association, President; Morwens Kiwanis Club, Algona, Board Member.

Why are you running, and why should voters support you?
I’m running because I want to make life better for my fellow Iowans. I want to restore common sense to state government and work collaboratively with other lawmakers. I’d like to focus on bringing more good paying jobs to Iowa and supporting education: K-12, community colleges, and our state universities.
I worked full time as a speech language pathologist for the area education agency for 30 years, currently work part time. I also worked part time as speech pathologist for Kossuth Regional Health Center. I was a small business owner for five years. These experiences, in addition to my civic work, taught me the importance of working together to achieve our common goals and provided me with the skills of problem solving in a collaborative manner.
There are a lot of issues that require us to come together in order to find solutions. As your State Senator, I will be an advocate for programs and policies that will solve problems. I want to be a State Senator who gets things done and makes the lives of my fellow Iowans better. It is not about what is best for my party or me--It is about what is best for IOWANS! I want to work across the aisle and come up with bi-partisan solutions to the challenges we face.

Specific issues that you would like to address if elected:
 •Jobs and economic development incentives
Iowa has a great opportunity to be a leader in the 21st century economy. Our clean energy industry is already leading the way. We produce more wind energy per capita than any other state—30 percent of our power comes from wind, and we also lead the way in ethanol production. We are an innovative, hard working people-the envy of many states.
The key to bring great jobs to our region is by making sure Iowans are prepared to take the jobs. We need to invest in job training programs and expand public-private partnerships, like the programs offered at Iowa Lakes Community college that train Iowans for good–paying jobs in its wind energy program. This is what we need more of: common sense programs that benefit Iowa businesses, Iowa students and Iowa taxpayers.
Another way to create jobs is to support our Iowa entrepreneurs with their start-ups through mentorship and education programs that provide advice, guidance and venture capital.
We also have to make companies want to come to Iowa. Providing them an educated workforce is one the biggest parts of that, but we should also focus on building our communities so that companies want to be here. That means providing a healthy environment, with clean water and air, recreational trails, arts and culture, good schools and health care.
• Education
Giving our kids a great education should be one of the most important functions of government. Iowa has been a leader in public schools, but if we don’t support them, we can’t keep it up.
As State Senator, I will fight to support our schools, our students, and our teachers, so that we can prepare the next generation of Iowans for life and give them the skills they will need to get good jobs.
Should you wish to discuss any issues, feel free to contact me at: susanbangert.com or bangertforsenate@gmail.com.

Dennis Guth is seeking reelection to the senate seat he won in 2012.
He graduated from Klemme Community School, Iowa State University, with a B.S. in Agricultural Mechanization.
Organizations in which he has been involved include: Klemme Area Development Organization—President; Hancock Co. Pork producers—Treasurer; Hancock Co. Farm Bureau—Treasurer, vice president, president; The Family Leader—Board member; and, Elder at the Evangelical Free Church of Britt.

Why are you running, and why should voters support you?
I am running for State Senate because I desire to represent Biblical values in state government. I am proud to be an American and an Iowan. We are an exceptional nation because of the liberty we embrace. I affirm what the Declaration of Independence says – that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe in the Federal Constitution as our founding document; one that was not written to be flexible, but to be our enduring covenant.

Specific issues that you would like to address if elected:
I will act to protect the right to life from the moment of conception and our Second Amendment rights to protect ourselves. I will defend Iowa’s “Right to Work” law and our First Amendment rights to live and work according to our own conscience. It is my goal to reduce the size of government to protect our tax dollars, while eliminating red tape that kills jobs and hurts small business. That includes protecting our state’s rights from an increasingly powerful, invasive and out-of-touch federal government. I will work to promote long term natural marriage as the place to raise the next generation and be the foundation of our society.