Croken says he's always been interested in public policy and public service, and winning a seat on the county board gave him a chance to work on these directly. The Iowa House would give him access to an even larger stage.
Recently the board of supervisors said "no" to building a large solar farm in a rural area. He was on the losing side of that issue, but thinks he'd have a chance to fix that, in Des Moines.
"Why is renewable energy such a good opportunity in Clinton, Johnson, and Cedar counties, and not even an option in Scott County ? So I think we need to standardize some of these public policy issues on a state level."
If elected, he would oppose efforts by the governor and Republican legislators to use public money for private school vouchers.
"I long for a day when Iowa public schools are again the envy of the nation. Over time, Iowa public education has dropped from number one to mediocre at best, and that's not good enough for the children of Iowa and I think we have an opportunity to repair that."
Croken is pro choice on abortion, and believes most Iowans agree. And he thinks that issue just might help Democrats win back control of the Iowa House.
The newly-drawn District 97 covers most of central and eastern Davenport.
