Working-class credentials boost Swartz's run

Oct. 4—Diana Swartz has been on the frontlines with her co-workers.

Now, she wants to do it for people on a wider scale.

Swartz, a Democrat running for the Wapello County-based Iowa House District 25 seat against Republican Hans Wilz, has changed the way voters view her candidacy. She's knocked on doors — of both Democratic and Republican voters — and had a few doors shut in her face.

But it all comes back to one statement she makes when addressing those on both sides of the aisle.

"I've had Republicans tell me, 'I can't vote for you because you're a Democrat,'" she said. "And I asked one lady, 'Why?' She just kind of looked me, said no one ever asked that before. If you look at my policies, I think I'm more in line with what you might want than what the other side is showing."

Indeed, Swartz comes from a blue-collar background. She worked at Excel, Cargill for almost 22 years and John Deere in Ankeny for the last five. During the John Deere strike earlier this year, she was a strike captain, overseeing 27 people by making sure they were on the picket line, making sure they had the necessities such as food and drink.

"And I would walk with them and talk with them, and when there were people who didn't want to picket, especially if it was raining, I told them everyone has to," she said. "We fought for the future of our John Deere employees."

Swartz considers herself a moderate, but definitely pro-worker. She sympathizes with those trying to make ends meet, because she's been there.

"I've been on unemployment. I was on it for six months and was just about running out when I got on at John Deere," she said. "Anyone who criticizes that at the statehouse, I'd say, 'Come walk in my shoes and understand where I come from."

Swartz believes the state needs to invest more in public education, which is a topic that hits close because some family members are teachers. She's "watched it go downhill" and wants people to come to Iowa for education, as she believes they used to. She also believes teachers and para-educators need to be paid more.

"I think we ranked in the top three at one time, and we're down at like 46 (for public education)," she said. "I've seen anywhere from 25 to 46 in different categories, and that's a shame to see Iowa ranked that low.

"My stepson's first wife was a teacher, and then there's relatives that have all been teachers," she said. "I've felt like they haven't funded public education for a very long time. When I say public education, I also mean our community colleges, schools and universities."

On a similar note, Swartz said "we need to understand our history, because if you don't you're bound to repeat it."

"We need to know everything because that makes you a smarter person. We need to get rid of that critical race theory law because no one's teaching that," she said. "I didn't know anything about the Tulsa race riots until two years ago. I think we need to hear those things.

"History isn't about hurting feelings."

Since the primary, much as happened in the country, especially around abortion with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Swartz is a pro-choice candidate despite growing up in a Catholic household.

"My mother told me in 1973, when Roe was affirmed by the Supreme Court, that this was the best thing that could ever happen to a woman, and she had four girls who were raised Catholic," Swartz said. "It's a woman's right to choose. I'm a firm believer that what is between a woman and her doctor is none of our business. Let them make that choice.

"It's no different that people who said they didn't want (covid) vaccinations, and most of those people are trying to say what a woman should do," she said. "I'm glad my mother wasn't around to see Roe overturned."

Swartz also believes voting should be easier with early voting returned to the duration it was before the state legislature shortened it.

Mostly, though, she believes she has policies voters of all parties can get behind, and feels that's her biggest strength.

"I feel that I'm for everybody. I don't even like to tell people I'm a Democrat," she said. "I think if you look at my policies, we're all aligned a little bit closer than you think.

"I work with people every day who struggle to pay their house payment, car payment, just paying their bills," she said. "I understand that and I've been there. I like to stand up for the underdog."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury