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RandySF

(57,631 posts)
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 04:06 PM Jul 2020

FLIPPABLE: Jen Pellant for IA-HD16

Hi. My name is Jen Pellant and I am the Democratic candidate working to represent Council Bluffs (House District 16) in the state legislature. I grew up in Council Bluffs, where my parents were public school teachers at Lewis Central Community Schools. My mom, Jan, taught 7th grade and my dad, Erwin, taught high school English and coached football and basketball. Both were career-long union members.

I graduated from Lewis Central High School and went to college at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. After graduating from Simpson, I went to law school at the University of Iowa. Although the legal education proved valuable, a career in law was not ultimately my calling. Instead, I chose to pursue an opportunity in small business, joining a small but growing hospitality group. That opportunity led to roles in management, marketing, event planning, community outreach, fundraising, and eventually, human resources. After several years in the restaurant business, I moved on to a role as the Director of Human Resources for a small steel fabrication company, learning the business of manufacturing and heavy construction as well.

After the 2016 election, politics became central to my life, and eventually I was motivated to make a career change. I came home to Southwest Iowa to be close to my family — my parents, my sister, Kathy, who is a first-grade teacher in the Council Bluffs Community School District, and my nephew, Alex Reed (who was a counselor and coach at Thomas Jefferson High School for two years before recently returning to the University of North Dakota to pursue a Master’s Degree in counseling and work as a volunteer coach in the football program, where he played as an undergraduate). My intent was only to organize and work for other political candidates. But, as I knocked on thousands of doors for the caucuses, I repeatedly heard my own family’s worries and concerns about state policies reflected in the conversations I had with other Iowans. After much reflection and encouragement from new and old friends, I decided the best way to serve my community would be to help flip the Iowa House and return some balance to Des Moines.

At the heart of it all, I’m a coach’s kid. I learned many of life’s first and toughest lessons in a gym, and grew up believing that life is a team sport. None of us should have to go it alone, and we all do better when we work together. My dad taught me that you don’t quit when you’re down, but you also don’t run up the score just because you can. For too long now, the politicians in Des Moines have been running up the score on everyday Iowans — it’s unsportsmanlike, unstatesmanlike, and just plain wrong. I never thought I would run for office, but my community, my team, needs someone in Des Moines who will stand up for working families against corporate interests and restore balance to the legislature.

I believe in a vision for Iowa that honors who we are and always have been. This is my home. I know it to be a place where people care about each other and take care of each other. We’ve seen that through devastating flooding and again during a global pandemic — Iowans coming together to house the homeless, feed the hungry, clean up, rebuild, and carry on. We can do better than the representation we’re currently getting in Des Moines. We can have representatives who will lift up disabled Iowans, veterans, teachers, communities of color, and LGBTQ Iowans; representatives who will protect workers and our seniors, who deserve to retire and live with dignity. We can fully fund our schools, restore collective bargaining, ensure voting rights for all Iowans, support our local hospitals and our local businesses, protect IPERS, and clean up our air and water while supporting small farms and local food producers. We just need to work as a TEAM. But here’s the key — if we want a state house that works as a team, we need to vote for team players. I’m asking for your vote because I’m a team player. I will never promise you miracles, but I will always get in there with you and fight shoulder to shoulder to make your life, and the lives of ALL Iowans, better. Together we can do this.







https://www.pellantforiowa.com

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FLIPPABLE: Jen Pellant for IA-HD16 (Original Post) RandySF Jul 2020 OP
I hate when politicians say "Des Moines" instead of SharonClark Jul 2020 #1

SharonClark

(10,005 posts)
1. I hate when politicians say "Des Moines" instead of
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 07:03 PM
Jul 2020

“state government” or “the Legislature”. Usually it’s repugs running against “Des Moines” and I don’t like to hear from a Democrat, either.

Rant over.

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