Left: Chair Brigham Hoegh and Vice Chair Shelby Young caught Julian for a photo.

Right: Julian speaking in Exira.

February 21, 2019 – On his first trip to Iowa as a Presidential Candidate, Julian Castro visited the Audubon Democrats in Exira. In attendance were Audubon County Democrats, Cass County Democrats, and a number of journalists from papers including the LA Times, the Des Moines Register, and The Dallas Morning News–highlighting the attention Julian is receiving.

Julian shared his vision for his presidency highlighting goals of making the US:

• Best Educated:
  • Including universal pre-K, which he has experience implementing as Mayor of San Antonio.
• Healthiest:
  • Medicare for All
• Fairest:
  • Justice system reform
  • Raise the minimum wage
  • Immigration reform: noting we don’t have to choose between secure borders and humane treatment of people.

Julian also said he would recommit the US to the Paris Climate Agreement, noting it’s a false choice to choose between the environment and jobs. Lastly, Julian noted he’s not taking any PAC money or any federal lobbyist money.

In time for questions, Julian was asked a number of questions including: How would you work across the aisle? To which he answered: 1) change the tone, 2) encourage Congress to be more transparent, and 3) encourage updating redistricting to be fairer.