Candidates seek state senate office (Part 2)
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Baier stumps for state senate seat
By KEN GARNER
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — With the election upon us Republican candidate for the open Iowa State Senate seat recently came to Ringgold County to make his pitch to voters.
Baier is a current a member of the Cass County Board of Supervisors where he has served the past 10 years, eight of which he was Chairman. He also served as a member of Griswold Community School District Board of Education for 11 years.
“Between those two jobs, I got a lot of experience in local government, what local government can and cannot do,” he said.
Baier said that a big part of that is learning how to work with budgets.
“If we’re gonna provide these services, it’s gonna take money, that money has to come out in somebody’s pocket,” he said. “How do you make that balance? That’s always the challenge.”
However, Baier said that he enjoyed making a difference in the lives of the people of Cass County he believes that he can make a bigger difference on a larger scale.
“There are some things that are just not possible to address at the local level, it has to be done at the state level, and that’s one of the reasons why I’m running now. I would like to have a chance to do some things that I think (would be) particularly good for rural school districts that are facing challenges like declining enrollment and having a tough time recruiting staff to their small communities.”
Baier is also a founding member of the non-profit Noble Initiative Foundation, which established a child development center and new housing in Griswold. Baier, and his wife Barb, also formed Noble Township Educational Services, providing curriculum services to smaller school districts,
Baier was a longtime educator and farmer.
It’s the wide breadth of experience that Baier believes makes him the best candidate to meet the needs of the district’s residents.
“There are some things that are just not possible to address at the local level, it has to be done at the state level. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m running now is because I would like to have a chance to do some things that I think (would be) particularly good for rural school districts that are facing challenges like declining enrollment and having a tough time recruiting staff to their small communities.”
If elected, Baier said that he would be a voice for all the people of the district even though he fits the mold of a more “traditional” candidate.
“I’ll be a strong voice for agriculture and rural communities,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of experience, both from the school board, and county board of supervisors. I’m probably cut from the same cloth that most people are here in the ninth district. As far as traditional values, I’m not on any crusade to change the fabric of America.
“I don’t see where socialism is going to be the answer…. My faith is important to me. My value system is important to me. In fact, I can disagree with people who have different religious beliefs if their value system is the same. And I guess that’s where I come back to that word traditionally.”
