DES MOINES, Iowa — Leaders of Iowa’s Democratic Party met with members of the media to discuss the upcoming 91st General Assembly.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst and Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner talked about the swearing in of new lawmakers and what some new faces bring to the table; along with how the party looks at attacking the next three months after losing more numbers in both the Iowa House and Senate.

“Relevance isn’t a concern because we’re not talking about the representatives or senators who are here, we’re talking about the people we represent and their voices need to be heard at the Capitol, and we will continue to fight for that,” said Konfrst (D) District 32 from Windsor Heights.

“We are the employees of all the Iowans who elected us and we’re here to do a job for them. they deserve to have their voice heard, they deserve to have us represent them. They deserve us to have to hold our Republican colleagues accountable,” said Weiner (D) District 45 from Iowa City.

Both leaders emphasized that the majority of the policies that come through and pass out of the Iowa Statehouse are bipartisan. One example they pointed to was a hands free driving bill that had seen some movement last session.

Property taxes look to be the headline for the Iowa House and Senate Republican majorities this session, with a better idea of what is or what isn’t in a policy proposal when the session starts. Konfrst and Weiner have been talking with different sized municipalities about what they are worried about with potential changes to the tax code.

“I would really urge our Republican colleagues to bring a wide variety of those people to the table so that they could hear how it’s working right now, what they’re spending their money on and why they are so worried about just being able to fund public safety,” said Weiner. “Not to mention the other things that make communities a place that Iowans want to move to that create the amenities that people want when they live in a community.”

“So, let’s not use a one size fits all solution, the needs of Ackley are not the same as the needs of Ankeny,” said Konfrst.

Both chambers gavel in at 10 a.m. on Monday morning for the first session of the 91st General Assembly.

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