Democratic Iowa state Sen. Izaah Knox is running to represent District 5 on the Polk County Board of Supervisors.
Knox, who is serving his first term as state legislator, announced last fall his plans to run for District 5, a seat held by outgoing veteran supervisor Angela Connolly. Connolly, who has represented much of the heart of Des Moines since 1998, announced in September she would not seek another term representing north and northwestern Des Moines, the East Village and parts of downtown.
Knox runs unopposed in the June 2 primary and will also be the lone candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The Register asked each candidate to respond to questions about why they’re running and the biggest issues facing Polk County. Their answers may be edited for length or clarity.
What is the most important issue facing Polk County and what would you do to address it?
Knox (D): Polk County’s most urgent challenge is making sure basic stability, housing, mental health care, food access, PreK childcare, education, and good jobs keeps pace with growth. I will focus county government on practical, neighborhood-level solutions: expand housing with supportive services where needed, strengthen mental health and crisis response, invest in early childhood education, adult & youth workforce partnerships, and treat nonprofits as core partners. The measure is simple: everyone should be able to live, work and thrive here.
As Polk County faces budgeting challenges, what programs or services do you consider essential and should be protected and where would you be willing to make cuts?
Knox (D): I will protect services that keep people safe, healthy and stable: public safety and emergency response, mental health and crisis services, public health, conservation and water, veteran and human services, food security, affordable workforce housing, homelessness response, and basic county operations. I will look first for cuts in duplication, outside contracts that are not producing measurable results, vacant positions that can be restructured, and outdated administrative costs, not frontline services that residents rely on. I will also focus on increasing funds through state, federal, and public/private partnerships.
What role should Polk County have in addressing central Iowa’s water quality issues?
Knox (D): Polk County should be a regional leader on water quality because our residents pay the price when upstream and local pollution reaches our rivers and drinking water. The county should protect and expand monitoring and use data to target investments for safe water consumption from the farm to the faucet; therefore, I will partner with farmers, cities, homeowners, and local investment groups on point-of-use remedies, wetlands, cover crops, buffers, and stormwater projects, and support long-term state and federal funding. Clean water is a public health, economic development and basic stewardship priority.
Read more about the midterm candidates at: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/news/elections/.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government and Polk County reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Izaah Knox runs for Polk County supervisor in District 5
Reporting by Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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