State Representative Brian Best of Glidden will be the sole candidate to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot for the newly redrawn House District 11 for the upcoming midterm elections. District 11 encompasses the entirety of Carroll and Audubon Counties, the southeastern half of Shelby County, and a small section of northeastern Pottawattamie County. While the district’s geography has changed, its demographics have not. Best says he plans to continue representing rural Iowans’ values and beliefs at the statehouse as one of the longest-serving members of the Iowa House.
Since taking office in 2015, Best has served on a half-dozen different committees. In the most recent session, his assignments included the Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor Committees and chair of the House Transportation committee. Best says his experience and seniority have helped pass legislation that has languished at the statehouse for years, such as updates to the state’s bottle bill.
Calls for changes to the 40-plus-year-old law have been made repeatedly in recent sessions but were never able to make it to the governor’s desk. Best says the bill did not get much fanfare, but it was exciting to be a part of helping it across the finish line. Another hotly debated issue expected to return in the 2023 session is shifting state education funds to follow students. Best says he does not oppose the idea but did not support the most recent attempt due to his worries about how it would have impacted rural school districts.
Best will appear during the Carroll Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Forum scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 12 at the Carroll High School auditorium. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. that evening. It will also be live-streamed on 1380 AM/95.1 FM KCIM and the Carroll Broadcasting Facebook and YouTube pages.
