Perry native Scott Heldt, a candidate for the Iowa General Assembly, visited with voters Thursday morning at the Perry Perk coffeehouse in downtown Perry.
Heldt is running for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives for District 20, which includes Perry and the Dallas County Townships of Spring Valley, Dallas, Lincoln and Linn, as well as all of Guthrie and Adair counties and three Cass County Townships.
About a dozen local voters greeted the candidate.
Heldt said he wanted to meet with residents of Perry and listen to their concerns about state government. Some of the topics discussed included education funding, environmental issues and economic development for Iowa’s small towns and rural regions.
Healthcare also received a lot of attention from the coffeehouse denizens, who are mostly retirees. Particular attention was given to the Branstad administration’s recently approved Medicaid Modernization initiative, which privatizes administration of the state’s Medicaid program by transferring it to four for-profit companies: Amerigroup Iowa Inc., AmeriHealth Caritas Iowa Inc., UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc. and WellCare of Iowa Inc.
Pat and Steve McPherson were among the people greeting Heldt. Pat McPherson is a nurse and works regularly with Medicaid patients. She raised several concerns about the administration changes in the program.
Steve McPherson is a retired public school principal and shared his informed opinions about public school funding. The McPhersons recently relocated to the Perry area.
Heldt, a Democrat, is opposing four-term incumbent Republican Clel Baudler of Greenfield. The Perry High School graduate earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy and ethics at the University of Iowa, picking up a certificate in business entrepreneurship on the side.
Education in Iowa is one of Heldt’s passions.
“As a young professional with a fresh perspective,” he said, “my top priority will be to restore Iowa’s educational excellence through adequately investing in our youth. We have seen and heard enough of a two-and-a-half year stalemate over education funding. I’m proud of the education I received from Perry Community Schools, and depriving our youth of the same opportunity to succeed and compete in an ever-growing international job market is detrimental to our communities and state. Continuing to create pathways for success is essential for our children to choose their own future.”
Heldt recently endorsed former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley in his bid for the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. presidency.
“Coming from the small town of Perry, it makes sense for me to endorse a candidate who puts our future first,” Heldt said. “Education across the nation and especially in Iowa has been shortchanged, and there are now fewer opportunities for our children to build ladders towards a better life. O’Malley is the leader we need to make a priority of quality education and the freedom for young Americans to chose their own future.”
For more information about Heldt and his candidacy, visit his Facebook page.
