The Mahaffey Guarantee promises residents of the third district of Iowa that Mike Mahaffey, Poweshiek County Attorney for 18 years, will be responsible to his constituents for his actions and conduct if he is elected congressman.

Mahaffey is the Republican candidate for the third district. He has promised to work no more than 12 years in Congress and wishes to impose term limits on all members of Congress.

He said he wants to “achieve fiscal sanity at the federal level.” That includes efforts to pass a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, cutting the federal deficit and keeping taxes as low as possible.

In addition, Mahaffey wants to protect Social Security and Medicare for those who rely on them. But he wants to reform both programs to assure they are preserved for future generations. “I don’t think it is right to make senior citizens afraid. The generation that is now coming of age is going to have to face the change to come,” he said.

He is in favor of raising the retirement age to save the government money.

Continuing to maintain his primary residence in Montezuma, he said, is a priority. “My wife, Patti, will live in Montezuma and our youngest children will continue to attend Montezuma public schools.”

Mahaffey is a father of three, including a college-aged son.

“I’m committed to work to reduce the ‘educational bureaucracy’ in Washington so we can put more dollars into student loans and third district classrooms. We don’t need more bureaucrats. We need more loan dollars and to help educators become effective, not to mention improving teacher salaries,” he said.

“One of the disappointments in politics right now is the failure of educational policies,” he said.

Mahaffey said he wants to use his experience as a county attorney to support initiatives to fight crime and curtail drug use by working with district law enforcement, social workers and educators to address the juvenile crime and drug issues.