Meet the candidates: Adrian Dickey

[Editor’s note: The Southeast Iowa Union sent questionnaires to the local candidates running for seats in the Iowa Legislature that are up for election on Nov. 5. This is the questionnaire of Republican Adrian Dickey, who is running against Independent Lisa Ossian to represent Iowa Senate District 44, which includes all of Jefferson, Keokuk, and Van Buren counties, plus the eastern half of Mahaska County and the southwest corner of Henry County.]

1. What issue do you feel most knowledgeable about? What's something about that issue that the average person might not know?

Since my professional background for the past 30 years has been rounded in various business activities, when any legislation is being considered, (especially relating to trucking/transportation, retail gas stations/refined fuels, and business development), I have become one of the go-to people among my Senate colleagues to understand how that legislation might be of value or hurt these segments of our economy.

It is disappointing that my opponent has criticized me for not having countless employers or occupations over the years. She has made light of my working at Dickey Transport and Dickey Oil for 30 years (after receiving a college degree from UNI) , stating that because of that “I am not very rounded,” compared to her doctorate in history and teaching her entire life in various community colleges and traveling across Europe.

I certainly have never “traveled across Europe.” In fact, I have only been to Europe for a few days and that was two years ago after I was invited to speak to members of the German Parliament on their desire to transform the entire trucking network in Germany to being 100% electric by 2030. My message to them was that was unrealistic, would completely crumble the German economy and their entire transportation sector.

Maybe I am just a “trucker from Packwood,” however having 30 years of experience in doing something really well has value. I am certain my opponent believes that her stories of European history would provide value in the Iowa Senate, however I know the value I add by being the go-to person on transportation related issues when the trucking industry is the second largest sector of employment in Iowa with 1 out of every 11 jobs in Iowa are trucking related.

2. Can you tell us about your sources of information? When you want to learn about a political issue, where do you go to learn about it?

For any legislation we are considering in the capitol, I have found that the best source of information is to find a colleague, Republican or Democrat, who has a background in the subject. For example, if we are looking at an issue that impacts farming, I go to the handful of farmers that I serve with in the Senate and ask them about the issue and how the proposed legislation would impact their industry.

When an issue comes up concerning education, there is a former school superintendent and several K-12 and college teachers in the Senate that I consult with. With banking or tax related legislation, there is a former banker and CPA that I serve with. When the subject deals with transportation or fuels, I tend to be the person who is answering the questions.

This answer applies to nearly every segment in our state where legislation could have an impact. I have found it best to visit with my colleagues to get a better understanding of the legislation and its impact on that particular industry. After that, I reach out to constituents in my district that are also directly connected in that field.

This is one of the unique things about our Senate and one of the advantages of having a part-time legislature. With Iowa having a part-time legislature, it allows everyone to continue to have other occupations and to be experts in something other than politics. And that is a GREAT thing!

3. Are there any issues that you have changed your mind about? And if so, what caused you to change your mind?

Yes, many. To be an effective legislator, you must accept that your expertise may be only in a few things. One is certainly allowed to have firm beliefs, but you must have an open mind. You may not agree with the other side but hearing how and why someone differs from your own perspective only helps you to be more compassionate and fully diverse on the subject.

4. Do you think your political party should compromise more with the other political party?

That question implies that compromise does not occur between political parties, and I do not see that as being the case. In fact, there is a significant amount of compromise that takes place within the elected members that make up each party. Trust me, not all Republicans agree on the details on every issue and not all Democrats agree on the details on every issue. Compromise is found on every issue that is up for debate

5. States often copy the policies in other states. Are there policies in other states that you wish Iowa would copy? Are there policies in Iowa that you see other states copying because of their success?

My desire to see comprehensive tort reform in Iowa was one of the leading reasons I ran for the Iowa Senate four years ago. In those four years, we have passed two of the largest tort reform pieces of legislation in Iowa history, trucking tort and medical malpractice.

In the past year, I was with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at over 60 events as he attempted to win the Iowa Caucus and with that, much travel was involved. In one of our long car rides together, we talked about the trucking tort legislation that Florida passed and the trucking tort legislation that Iowa passed, both in 2023. The bills were very different and I told Governor DeSantis that we could have never passed what they passed in Florida and he replied that they could have never passed what we passed in Iowa. The point is that while the words within the four squares of the paper were very different, a similar objective was accomplished.

So I would resist in agreeing that policies among states are often copied, rather ideas about similar subjects are often looked at from other states and sometimes there is a desire to bring those concepts to Iowa to make Iowa better.

6. If you are elected or re-elected in November, what do you hope to accomplish in this next legislative session?

In 2022, Iowa Republicans passed into law a HUGE property tax reform bill that moved all of the mental health levies off of hard-working Iowans’ property taxes and moved the funding to the state’s general fund. This was a $1 BILLION savings to Iowa property owners. In 2023, I followed that up by helping draft the most comprehensive property tax reform bill in Iowa history! This bill provided $100 million in property tax relief, recurring every year, to Iowa property taxpayers and included new exemptions for veterans and senior citizens while increasing transparency in property taxes and local government spending.

In those same three years, my opponent has been a city council member of Oskaloosa where she has RAISED property taxes on everyone in Oskaloosa!

This summer I have been working on yet another bill to reduce the property tax burden on hard-working Iowans. Reducing taxes will once again be my main priority for this upcoming session. The differences between my opponent and I are clear. If you want to pay more taxes, vote for my opponent. If you want to see continued tax relief, then I am your candidate.

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