Iowa Senate District 17

I'm running because our lives, labor, resources, and even our votes are not truly ours. Our lives and labor are owned by our employers, our resources and land are owned by corporations and developers, and our votes are owned by a hyperpartisan two-party system that does not adequately represent the people.

In March of 2020, as we were learning how dangerous COVID-19 truly was, I began talking to my parents about the conditions at the meatpacking plants where they worked. From there I began talking to workers all over the state hearing first-hand accounts from workers about the lack of safety that has long plagued the industry was manifesting itself during this outbreak.

As we saw states, even countries completely shut down, plant leadership was telling workers not to talk about the virus or any positive cases that they heard about; meanwhile, that same leadership was placing bets over how many workers would get sick.

A few months later, I found myself kettled and violently arrested by DMPD in downtown Des Moines during a march for Black Liberation.

In this work, I continued to see how leadership at all levels was intentionally ignoring the calls from Iowa’s most marginalized communities. The immigrant communities I organize with continue to feel ignored by our government and by the political parties.

Members of my community have continuously demonstrated that they are sick of the status quo. After my good friend and fellow organizer, Indira Sheumaker, won her election for city council, it became even more clear that now is the time to take back the power for the people.

The most important issue for me is direct democracy. I believe people should have direct decision-making power in their neighborhoods, their workplace, their city, state and country. Government officials are not connected to the community, and many officials make their office intentionally unreachable. I will work to build new systems to provide direct representation and invest in the needs of our communities. I will help my community organize their workplace, organize as tenants, and as members of our communities so that we can build collective power that will be impossible to ignore by decision-makers.

I would be the first Latinx person in the state senate of Iowa, I would be the first nonbinary person in the state legislature of Iowa, I am running on a radical platform including Defund the Police, I am a full-time community organizer. In the summer of 2020, I was violently arrested for protesting against the violent police.

Primary Election June 7, 2022 (I will not have to participate)
General Election: November 8, 2022

Yes, as of now there are 2 Democrats set for the June primary. I am running Independent.

N/A

The biggest challenge so far has been accessing campaign tools that my team is familiar with. Because I am running independent, I have had to search for alternatives to Van and ActBlue. This has also shut me out of qualifying for certain endorsements (i.e. Run for Something).

We are not campaigning in the traditional sense. We will win by elevating the community rather than simply asking for their vote. Instead of knocking doors exclusively to win an election, we will use this opportunity to provide resources and opportunities to organize. We will help build people's councils, worker and tenant unions, mutual aid efforts and community spaces that will help create organizing spaces that will last far beyond just an election cycle in a way that centers the needs of the community rather than a candidate for office.

This is not typically how campaigns are run but in the past 2 years of organizing, we've seen how successful it can be at building trust and power. This is the strategy we used to win Indira's campaign. Not only did we beat an incumbent by a solid margin, but we also helped form the Des Moines Tenants Union and helped elevate other existing efforts.

Additionally, this district is incredibly diverse and very open to radical ideas and strategies. We have a solid list of dedicated volunteers in Des Moines and even outside of Iowa and have already garnered support from local leaders who typically align themselves with Democrats. The Democratic party of Iowa has continued to show that it is completely detached from its constituents and many are eager for something different.

The campaign has already generated a lot of buzz and has been featured in multiple publications. An op-ed I wrote published in the Des Moines Registered was shared quite a bit and helped us garner even more support. As we've begun knocking doors we've noticed that a solid number of folks had already heard of the campaign.

The campaign is run in a decentralized manner. Managerial duties are shared and important decisions are done using consensus.

Luke Bascom (he/him): He is part of the field operations team leading canvasses and phone banks. He was the field director for Indira Sheumaker for City Council who defeated an incumbent while running on a radical platform. We have been very close friends for several years, he is also my roommate.

Yena Balekyani (she/her): I first met Yena while organizing for the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, I was part of the campaigners team that she led. She worked as a constituency outreach director for the Iowa Democratic Party until recently when she began working for Progress Iowa. She was the campaign manager for Indira Sheumaker. She is also a leader in the Congolese-American community. Yena will help build relationships with other leaders in the community and secure endorsements.

Luana Nelson-Brown (she/her): Luana is a well-known Black organizer and activist in Des Moines. She is also the Executive Director and a victim advocate at Iowa Coalition for Collective Change. We began organizing together last year around reproductive justice. Luana will help with fundraising.

Frieda Bequeath (they/them): Frieda is a good friend and fellow activist. They have organized around many causes (i.e. reproductive justice, Black liberation, immigration reform, etc.) and is active in mutual aid efforts. They are the treasurer for the campaign and will help develop mutual aid and educational events and resources.

Gabriela Fuentes (she/her): Gabriela has been a consistent volunteer. She is an organizer with Planned Parenthood. As an immigrant herself, she has also organized with me around immigrants' rights.

Isabel Martinez (she/her): Isabel is a great leader in the Latinx and immigrant communities in Des Moines. She works for the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence and has led many local initiatives fighting for human rights in Des Moines. She is one of our main volunteers and is helping develop events for the Latinx community.

Pascha Morgan (he/him): Pascha is helping the campaign with SEO and analytics as well as some field operations. He has worked with many campaigns assisting with SEO/analytics and is a known Black activist.

Maria Alonzo (she/her): Maria is well known in the Des Moines Latino community and is heavily involved in the soccer community in town. She is an immigrant and has organized with me. Last year she won her election for Des Moines School Board. She will be helping build relationships in the community.

Ceci Martinez (they/them): Ceci is a DACA recipient and activist. They will be helping with administrative duties and event planning.

Dra. Maria Corona (she/her): As a formerly undocumented person, Maria has been a very strong and vocal advocate for justice. She is currently the Executive Director of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She will help with community outreach.

Endi Martiinez (he/him): Endi is a young Latino activist recently recognized by the ACLU for his work to get SROs out of Des Moines public schools. He will help connect with students in Iowa.

Joe Henry (he/him): Joe is a known activist and leader in Iowa. He is the President of LULAC Iowa and Forward Latino, we have organized together for the last two years on immigrants' rights and workers' rights. He will help with Latinx outreach and securing endorsements.

Carter Gerritson has been my best friend since middle school. While he does not live in Des Moines, he, myself and my cousin Diego are incredibly close and talk on a very regular basis. While they are supportive of my campaign, they aren't very involved so time with them is always a great way to relax and get my mind on something else.

I also have a group of friends who have been incredibly supportive throughout this process and have lent their time and effort to this work. I organize with them but also host movie nights and dinners to have some time away from the difficult work that we all do. We share memes and tiktoks and go thrift shopping from time to time.

Izaah Knox, Democrat
Grace Van Cleave, Democrat

Agreed on 03-24-2022