Mark Riley filed nomination papers today with the Secretary of State's office to be placed on the ballot as an Independent in District 90. Mr. Riley was the Republican nominee for the State Senate in District 43 in 2010 facing State Senator Joe Seng.
Mark Riley is a locomotive engineer for Canadian Pacific railroad and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen local 266. Mr. Riley is a retired Marine Infantry SNCO and is a member of the American Legion post 26 and the Davenport VFW. He is also a member of the Davenport Family Y.
Mark Riley is married to Elizabeth Riley who is the business manager for the Adler Theater. They have 3 children, Ethan, Robert and William. William is a special needs child who graduated Central High school this year and will continue to reside with his parents.
Mr. Riley is running as an Independent whose campaign theme is "for the common good". He believes that the political system has been broken by special interest money which has led to the extreme polarization of both parties. This polarization has affected the ability of State and Federal legislatures to function as the Founding Fathers intended. In his State Senate race in 2010 Mr. Riley was threatened by the Iowa Corn Growers association to support Ethanol or $5000 would be given to his opponent. Riley continues to oppose Ethanol as theft from working class families and "stupid" policy even before our current drought, He feels that Ethanol is an example of how special interest has corrupted our politicians and political system to be unable to respond to "the common good' of the citizens it is supposed to represent.
The candidate also believes that too much emphasis and resources have been given to rural and small town Iowa and will support initiatives that require the State to spend monies collected in user taxes such as the fuel tax to be spent primarily in the areas in which it was collected. The candidate feels that Iowa has expanded its Highway system to much and should take federal monies to begin establishing light rail connections to all Iowa's major urban areas.
The candidate supports creating reduced tax zones for Manufacturing Companies in Iowa's large cities so that there is no financial incentive to build or develop in rural Iowa, but rather in Iowa's Cities were infrastructure is already in place.
Mark Riley will advocate for policies that increase the Median Income of Iowa Families that have steadily declined since the 1970's. The results of High Unemployment and falling wages for families have made our large Cities unable to meet basic needs and staff public servants.
Mark Riley will also run on a position to De-criminalize Marijuana and follows the philopshy of prison reformer Chuck Colson with regard to the over incarceration of our citizens for non-violent crimes.
