Tommy Hexter (D-Grinnell).

A letter to the editor last week from Traer citizen Carolyn Adolphs mentioned an important comment I made during my debate with Rep. Dean Fisher as we are both seeking election to be the Representative for House District 53 on November 5th. During the debate on September 30th, I challenged Mr. Fisher about his effectiveness as Chair of Iowa’s Environmental Protection Committee. I said that his one policy proposal during the last session, a proposed raccoon bounty program, was “not going to cut it” to address Iowa’s dire environmental needs. In her letter, Ms. Adolphs rightfully commented on her experience growing crops and the damage that pests like raccoons and deer can cause. I appreciate Ms. Adolphs concern and I understand that many farmers do struggle with an overabundance of deer and raccoon pressure.

Saying that a raccoon bounty program “isn’t going to cut it” doesn’t mean it isn’t an important issue. There are serious concerns caused by pest populations that must be addressed, and a raccoon bounty is one way to do so, although I share the same doubts as the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) towards how effective such a program would be. I urge readers to read other articles about why the raccoon bounty program Rep. Fisher proposed didn’t advance past a committee hearing.

What my statement meant is that given the environmental issues that Iowa faces today, promoting a $5 raccoon bounty program shouldn’t be the top and only priority of the chair of our State House’s Environmental Protection Committee. Iowa has the second highest cancer rates in the nation and is the only state with a growing cancer rate, directly tied to nitrates in our waterways that exceed the EPA standard. According to the DNR, 60 percent of our state’s waterways are considered impaired as a result of agricultural runoff. There are several weeks every year where residents are advised not to swim in dozens of our recreational lakes. The health and wellbeing of our state depends on a government that will face these concerns and work with farmers to protect the health of their communities, yet Dean Fisher continues to deny over two decades of water quality data demonstrating a clear decline in the safety of our drinking sources.

By only focusing on writing and sponsoring bills about raccoons and making it legal to discriminate against transgender Iowans, Mr. Fisher consistently focuses on issues that are peripheral at best to the real issues Iowans face. As an elected official, one must prioritize the issues that are having the largest negative impact on our state. If elected, I would spend my time promoting programs that revitalize small businesses and small farms, food pantries and food banks, our education system, rural hospitals, and the beautiful natural areas of our state.

Tommy Hexter is the Democratic nominee for Iowa House District 53 and a resident of Grinnell.