Formally Announcing the Campaign launch.

Thank you for anyone reading this site, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to spend it here. Today, I'm formally announcing my candidacy to represent Iowa's District 23 as State Representative.

The district covers Iowa's Mills County, Fremont County, and the top half of Montgomery County. I am running as a Democrat, which normally would be an uphill climb in this district, but I'm confident we will succeed.

We need a candidate who shares our values, and who understands the problems we face in Southwest Iowa. One of the biggest problems we have ahead of us, whether we know it yet or not, is the number of veterans we have that have just returned from war.

As someone who has served two combat tours in Iraq, and as a currently serving Non-Commissioned Officer in the Iowa National Guard, I understand the problems these Soldiers face as they come home.

Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, but that will provide little comfort to the thousands of Iowans back from Afghanistan if we can't make a few thousand more. We can't do that with one of the highest commercial property tax rates in the nation. We can't do that as long as businesses are facing unsteady levels of demand that make it hard to hire new workers. And we can't do that by allowing medical costs to continue to skyrocket by reversing the gains we've achieved through the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

To take care of our Soldiers properly when they return home, we need to do our best to make sure they have economic security and access to health care and counseling. The VA system in Iowa is in need of massive overhaul, especially in the way it processes Compensation and pension claims.

These Soldiers need Representatives who understand their experiences, and have shared them. They need leaders who will stand up and make enemies in the Federal and State bureaucracy to make sure we have implemented changes that streamline the process for returning veterans to get what they need.


That is why I am running for State Representative in District 23 this year, and that's why I need your help to get there. Please support my candidacy, be a part of the conversation, and make a donation today.


                                              Thank you.
                         Michael Connolly, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Investments
                         Sergeant, IA Army National Guard
                         Candidate for State Representative, District 23