Sam Cox is the mother of five children and the proud wife of a U.S. Army Veteran. Having grown up and lived in Grinnell for decades, she has deep ties to her community.

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At her core, Sam believes in the value of hard work, and she has worked tirelessly to build a successful business in the Grinnell community: Saints Rest Coffeehouse. When she is not serving customers, Sam is a passionate advocate for animal rights – coordinating community outreach for pet adoption, fostering animals herself, and fundraising on behalf of local shelters.

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Sam is running to be a voice for all Grinnellians. Her top priorities are ensuring quality education, attracting workers to Grinnell, and keeping costs down for local families.

 

Issues That Matter to Grinnell

Too many Grinnellians are working longer hours for lower wages. And too many families are struggling - just one bad break away from not being able to make ends meet. Over the past few years, Sam has seen and felt the hurt in her community. Amid the most challenging times, she reflected on what was most important to her - her family, her business, and her community. She decided that she would do what she could to help her neighbors and fight for families like hers, and as a result, has decided to run for mayor of Grinnell.

 

Education

When Sam temporarily shut down her businesses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she still had to provide for her family. So, she took a job as a custodian in the Grinnell-Newburg School District. She saw firsthand the very best of humanity: our educators. She saw them at school at six in the morning and then again at six at night, working relentlessly to provide our kids with the best education.

 

When she was cleaning our town's schools, Sam saw how too many educators and school staff are overworked and underpaid. Too many career politicians have villainized our teachers. Consequently, we are seeing many teachers who feel burned out and unappreciated leaving the classroom. As your mayor, Sam will work with local partners to increase public school funding, improve teacher pay and support, and ensure that parents and educators have a voice as our community builds the new K-5 School our voters approved this year. 

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Small Business

Many businesses in Grinnell, big and small, can't find enough workers. As mayor, Sam will work with business owners to ensure their profitability while increasing workers' wages.

 

There are so many reasons people aren't working, and we need to look at this issue holistically. That means ensuring access to affordable, quality childcare so parents have the opportunity to work. It means expanding access to trades and skills training. It means more affordable housing in Grinnell. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and Sam is committed to working with all community partners to find creative ways to encourage folks to live and work in our town.

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Healthcare

Sam supports bringing down the cost of healthcare for all Grinnell residents. Being in a rural area should never be a barrier to access to healthcare. As mayor, Sam will fight to keep our town's hospitals and nursing homes open, expand clinics and community health centers, and incentivize highly skilled doctors and nurses to live and work in our community.

 

She is also keenly aware of the challenges Grinnell and surrounding communities have regarding mental health. We need to attract more mental health professionals to the area and expand mental health care availability and affordability. We need to provide sufficient funding for community mental health centers and funding for more emergency committal beds.