Waterloo Times

The 21-year-old University of Iowa student running to replace a long serving and outgoing Iowa City state House representative said in a recent interview that he wants the seat because it's time.

Dylan Harvey said he already was seeking a way to give back to the community when he found out Rep. Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City), who currently represents Iowa House District 89, is retiring.

"It is time for either the next generation or the next set of people in the community to put their foot forward and take advantage of what they've been able to do inside the community," Harvey said in a news story published Monday, Dec. 6, in The Daily Iowan.

Harvey will be 22 by next year's general election.

He is well placed to serve the community as a state House representative, Harvey said.

"I've lived in the state my whole life, and I've seen its highs and lows," he said in the news story. "And I’ve been raised on the ideals of speaking out and fighting for the fight. So with that, I love this community and everything that's done for me, and so I'm wanting to represent it in Des Moines."

Harvey currently is an intern research fellow and is studying sociology, political science and pre-law at the University of Iowa, according to information on his LinkedIn page.

"I'm a person who builds strong relationships with others, works effectively independently or within a small team," Harvey said on his LinkedIn page. "I excel at accomplishing things that I set out to do and am interested in developing in a challenging career field and to connect with employers who value these kinds of attributes."

On his own website, Harvey lists education, the environment, healthcare, childcare, LGBTQIA+ and term limits as issues in his campaign.

He announced his campaign, in part, on his Twitter page.

"I'm excited to announce my candidacy for State Representative in Iowa’s 89th District!" he said in his Monday, Dec. 6 Twitter post. "I hope to fight the good fight in Des Moines and be a fresh voice for Iowa!"

Mascher, a University of Iowa alumnus and retired educator who is serving her 13th term in the state House, said in November that she will not seek another term. Mascher said now is the time to step down as she has "been frustrated and disappointed with some of the partisanship that has occurred," referring to "the last number of sessions."

"That's always a little discouraging, however there's always things that we can find common ground on and I think, obviously, it's important to be able to do that no matter who is in those offices, and who was elected," Mascher said in a Nov. 8 Daily Iowan news story.

Private writing tutor, former English teacher Iowa City resident Elinor Levin announced last month that she also will seek Mascher's seat, the Daily Iowan reported Dec. 6.

Harvey isn't the only University of Iowa student to recently enter the political arena. University of Iowa senior Andrew Dunn announced in September his bid for the seat of state House District 90 Rep. Christina Bohannan (D-Iowa City) following Bohannan's decision to run for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Bohannan is a University of Iowa law professor.