I worked for Rita for two years as her clerk at the Iowa Legislature and I can say from firsthand experience that she is exactly who we need in Washington.
The first time I met Rita, she was making phone calls for her 2014 re-election campaign. She was contacting constituents who had requested a mail-in ballot, but had not yet turned it in. She would remind them to send it and would chat about any issues they found important. Rita famously takes too long on these calls, speaking with her constituents for hours.
In 2014, she ended up calling an elderly woman. When Rita asked this woman how she was doing, she simply replied that she was cold. Instead of just moving on, Rita asked her why. It turned out that this woman’s heat was broken and her landlord was refusing to repair it. Rita stopped what she was doing, got this woman’s information and immediately began fixing the problem. She had the woman’s heat up and running within a few days.
For the next two years, I witnessed these types of interactions countless times. As her clerk, I tried to reply to every email we received, which was often more than 100 a day.
Constituent services were very important to Rita, but she also oversaw great legislation: helping small-town revitalization, expanding disability services and improving access to reliable high-speed internet.
Rita truly wants to help people. It is so refreshing to have a politician who is not just trying to get ahead or play the political game. She just wants to do what is best for her constituents.
Rita Hart is exactly who we need in Washington and I urge you to vote for her Nov. 3.
Morgan Washburn
Cedar Rapids