(ABC 6 News-) Representative Sharon Steckman of Mason City will retire from the Iowa House of Representatives at the end of this legislative assembly, bringing an end to a sixteen-year career representing Mason City and the surrounding area.

Steckman, a Democrat, was most recently re-elected in 2022 to the House District 59 seat. In the latest session, Steckman served as Assistant Minority Leader.

A former educator, she has served as ranking member on the House Education committee, and has made advocating for public education a priority during her time in office.

“There’s been an attack on public education,” said Steckman. She argues that the Republican supermajority in Iowa’s state government has been “harmful to our half a million kids that use public education and our teachers who are working tirelessly to help those kids.”

“My goal has always been to work in a bipartisan way,” she adds. “I think we all need to look at what all of Iowa needs and what’s best for all of Iowa. I feel we haven’t done that in the past couple of years. When you have a supermajority, there’s no compromise. And I think compromise is the best thing for government.”