Iowa school’s class of ’58 beats the odds
All 14 members of Ringsted High’s graduates that year are still living
DES MOINES – She doesn’t talk much in committee meetings — just a few sounds here and there to let you know she’s upset.
And she isn’t much for constituent service or glad-handing with lobbyists, either.
But Alma Lucille Jones is stealing the show in the Iowa House of Representatives as its newest (and smallest) member.
“I’ve joked that she needs to get a secretary,” said Alma’s mom, Rep. Megan Jones, 31. “Because there have been a lot of requests to hold her.”
Jones, R-Sioux Rapids, gave birth Jan. 24, and since early February she has toted the newborn to and from meetings at the Capitol, gently rocking her in a bassinet on the House floor and balancing bottles, blankets and bill numbers as she runs up and down stairs.
“My folks deserve to have a voice here,” Jones said. “They elected me to do a job, and I needed to be here. So it was never a thought that I was going to take more time. I was going to take what we needed, and that was it.”
Her husband is a farmer, Jones said, “so it’s not like he can strap a Babybjörn to his chest and be hopping in and out of payloaders and tractors and chasing after cows.” She praised House leadership for gladly helping to accommodate her and for offering an extra set of hands from time to time.
House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, RClear Lake, said she would have supported Jones if she’d wanted to take more maternity leave. But she said she hopes this sends a message to moms that they have a place in Iowa’s citizen Legislature.
“Even if you’re a young woman and you’re thinking about starting a family and all those kinds of things, this is still a possibility,” Upmeyer said. “And that’s really kind of a contrast from when I first ran for office and people were still asking me, ‘Well who’s going to take care of your kids?’ despite the fact that I think my youngest one was perhaps a junior in high school.”
Jones, an assistant majority leader in the House, has kept up with running legislation through committees and on the floor for debate. While Jones led debate on a bill that would clarify legal fees charged in indigent defense cases, Alma lay sleeping in a rocker next to Jones’ desk on the House floor.
As Alma started to fuss, Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, the father of two girls, reached across the aisle to feed her a bottle.
“I love kids, and it’s had a very soothing effect — especially on me,” Windschitl said. “These past few weeks have been very stressful. ... So having baby Alma around, it gives you an opportunity to look back and actually remember that we’re doing what we’re doing down here today to make the world a better place for those future generations.”
Jones said she has enjoyed watching some lawmakers’ tough exteriors crumble around the baby.
“We always talk about (how) sessions have their own personality,” she said. “Last session was pretty heated, pretty intense. We were working on some pretty tough bills. And it’s still early on in this session, but I think she’s really lightened the mood here for a lot of people.”
Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty, noted the attention Alma receives is bipartisan. “Everybody that walks by takes a look at what Alma’s doing — both Democrats and Republicans. Everyone’s enamored,” she said.
Although Alma hasn’t been colicky and sleeps most of the day, Jones said caring for her added a layer of challenges to her daily routine.
“Physically, it’s just exhausting,” she said. “I try to keep track of my Fitbit, and the other day, I think I went up 29 floors. But you know, when I leave stuff downstairs in the office and I’ve got to go collect that, or if she needs changed or food, there’s just a lot more movement and a lot more strategy involved in trying to make sure that all of her needs are attended to.”
Upmeyer, a mother of five, said, “We all maybe need to overcome some preconceived notions about what a legislator looks like and the kind of norms that surround this.”
“Having baby Alma around, it gives you an opportunity to ... remember that we’re doing what we’re doing down here today to make the world a better place for those future generations.”