Des Moines, Iowa — Boosting Iowa’s economy is one of the key issues Republican Senate candidate and retired Air Force Colonel Al Ringgenberg has been discussing with District 8 voters in recent months. Ringgenberg pledged today to help get Iowans working and easing regulatory burdens plaguing small business when elected in November.
Ringgenberg presented more than 1,400 petition signatures to Iowa Secretary of State Matt Shultz and Iowa Senate Republicans Wednesday at the State Capitol. He will face Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal in the November election. Only 100 petition signatures are required to place a legislative candidate on the ballot.
“Iowa’s economy is not thriving,” Ringgenberg said. “You see it every day. Iowa homeowners and businesses are being crushed under the weight of taxes and burdensome regulations. Big government is driving our families and employers away. Small businesses, mom and pop stores pay property taxes that are on par with taxes paid by businesses in Manhattan. That is just wrong.”
”We are at ground zero for Iowa in 2012 because of this state senate race,” Pottawattamie County GOP Chair Jeff Jorgensen said. “Al definitely connects with voters on the issues. Judging from his reception at the county convention last Saturday, you’d think he was a rock star.”
The petitions Ringgenberg delivered to the Statehouse also call upon the Senate to debate and vote on the Iowa Marriage Amendment bill. Ringgenberg is also a strong proponent of reigning in judicial activism.
“If Senator Gronstal blocks voters from having a say in their constitution, then he prefers the whims of judges to the ballot box,” said Ringgenberg, who served as an appellate judge in the Air Force. “This issue is not about a group of people. This is a fight to preserve our constitution and liberty, and the sovereignty of the people. The Iowa Supreme Court invented a new constitutional entitlement without any input from the voters or their representatives.”