Letters to the Editor: Rob Johnson

Black Iowa News welcomes original letters to the editor. Letters will be edited for length and clarity. 400 words maximum. Email letters to the editor to dana@blackiowanews.com or mail to Black Iowa News, PO Box 3395, Des Moines, IA 50316.

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Rob Johnson

Today, I voted early for Rob Johnson in the Iowa House Representative Democratic primary and here’s why: Over the last several days, I’ve had the opportunity to knock on several hundred of my neighbors’ doors in Iowa House District 34. Some are confused about the primary, others have been busy with the end of the school year, and still others just haven’t made up their minds. As I talk to my neighbors, I hear fear and anxiety about the way the supermajority in our state government has been whittling down our rights and failing to provide the kinds of things we’ve set up government to provide. One neighbor says she’s moving out of state in part because our laws make it tough for teachers to teach. Another woman seemed to hold back tears as she worried about how to find mental health care for her son. A retired librarian said she grew up in a diverse community where everyone was celebrated, and now she sees book bans and bile. When so many of us feel the strands of democracy fraying, I want someone to represent me who will show up not just in the statehouse, but on our streets. Someone who helps bring in a choir to a funeral; someone who raises tens of thousands of dollars to fill his neighbors’ gas tanks; someone who mentors students at Des Moines Public Schools. Rob’s that kind of leader. He shows up for his community. He’s a progressive part-time pastor, full-time employee, and dad of a two-year-old. He’s one of the kindest, gentlest and most authentic people I’ve ever met. To my neighbors: show up for Rob by spreading the word and voting on June 4. He’s showed up for us, and he’ll keep showing up.

Noah Beacom, Des Moines