About Tony
Des Moines Roots
Tony is a lifelong resident of Des Moines, raised in the South Side neighborhood traditionally known as Little Italy. He learned the importance of respect for your neighborhood, your family, your elders, and your church. He worked at John Deere for 32 years, and was a proud member of UAW 450. Alfonso fought in World War II in Europe, and was later a commander at the B
ellizzi MacRae American Legion. Rose, Tony’s mother, has been an active member of the community for decades. She served as a past president of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary, where she led a campaign to help veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. She spent many years volunteering at St. Anthony’s church, Bellizzi MacRae, and on many other neighborhood projects. Lifetime of Public Service
Tony’s interest in public service first came from his father, a man who had a deep understanding of how important and real the American dream is. Alfonso and his family fled the fascist government in Italy led by Benito Mussolini. He knew what American freedom was really about, was proud to fight for it overseas, and was proud to support the government programs that helped make it a reality for many working families. That sense of service led Tony to working for Polk County at the age of 21. He worked as an environmental sanitarian, inspecting restaurants, sewage disposal, and water supplies. He would later become the president of his local AFSCME union. He first ran for office at the age of 24, and later got elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1986. There he served three terms before being elected to the State Senate. He served in the Senate for four years, where he soon attained the rank of President Pro Temp. Tony built a reputation of fighting for working families, equality, small businesses, and economic fairness. Tony’s Family
Tony and Kim, his wife of 39 years, raised three children in Des Moines: Emily, Allison, and Nick. Tony kept very active in the South Side with his children’s athletics activities. He coached Little League for a number of years and was a booster of Lincoln High School sports. Tony is also active with the Southside Cares organization
Tragedy struck the Bisignano family when their teenage son, Nick, died in a drunken driving accident. Afterward, Tony started the Nick Bisignano Foundation to promote responsible choices among young people. The foundation funded public service announcements to be responsible and make good choices, and awarded scholarship programs to students at Lincoln High School for good citizenship. Tony also took his message back to the Statehouse. Then-Governor Tom Vilsack proposed Nick’s Law, many of which’s proposals have passed the Legislature and become law in recent years. Looking Forward
Tony’s entire life has been focused on public service in the name of standing up for working people, children, the elderly, and immigrants. Tony admits he has made his share of mistakes, and his family has seen more than one’s fair share of tragedy. Through it all, Tony has been committed to making life better for children, seniors, and working families. Tony’s mission is to represent you and your family like the friends and neighbors you are. He asks for your vote in the June 3rd Primary for the Democratic nomination for Senate District 17. Issues
Working Families
Tony has built a strong reputation of fighting for issues and legislation affecting working class people. He has lived in Des Moines all his life, and will represent the voters of Senate District 17 like the friends and neighbors they are. Tony will never sell out to corporate interests. Unlike other candidates in this race, Tony will never lobby or advocate for the very organizations and corporations that have caused economic pain and hardship for the working people of Des Moines. Many labor organizations that represent working people, including the Des Moines police and firefighters unions, have endorsed Tony as their choice to fight for issues affecting working families. The same people that we trust to protect our safety have Tony’s back in this campaign because Tony has always had the back of working men and women. Caring for Our Seniors
Senior care is an important and personal issue to the voters of Senate District 17. Tony stops by his 90-year-old mother’s house every day to check in on her. Tony and his wife have helped his mother afford to stay in the same house that she was born in. But rising property taxes have forced tough choices on many seniors and their families. Tony proposes we look into freezing property taxes for seniors living on a fixed income. The state recently approved property tax breaks for large corporations – certainly we can find money to help keep seniors living in their homes. For those seniors who do move into a nursing home, Tony believes the state must do more to ensure they are being treated well and with respect at these facilities. Governor Branstad recently let go 10 senior home inspectors. Not only do we need to hire those people back, we should probably hire 10 more. Raising the Minimum Wage
Nothing else would do more to immediately help working families struggling at the bottom of the economic ladder than raising the minimum wage. Tony has seen the people of his district work harder for less money every year. We need to reward work with a real paycheck, one that can help families raise their children and plan for the future. Small Business
Small, family-run businesses are the heart of the South Side that Tony grew up in. The restaurants run by his cousins Babe, Chuck, and Linda are well-known throughout Des Moines. Tony wants the Legislature to focus on policies that help small businesses instead of more handouts to big corporations that are doing perfectly fine on their own. Education
Tony knows that education, from preschool through college, is the great equalizer for children in Iowa. That is why he will strongly support expanding access to universal preschool, helping students who face the added burden of living in poverty keep up with the rest of their classmates. Tony will also push to make school lunch 100% included in the price of public education. Recently a student in Norwalk had her lunch thrown away after she got to the register and her card was out of money. Tony thinks that is ridiculous. 60% is already covered, and there’s no reason we can’t find funds to eliminate the need for a lunch card altogether. No child should have to worry about whether or not they can eat lunch when they go to school. Student loan debt is another major issue facing young people and our economy. Recent college graduates are loaded down with large student loan debt. They can’t start their lives and can’t contribute as easily to the local economy if they have no money to spend. Tony believes Iowa needs to look into ways to ease the burden of student loans through lower interest rates or helpful tax credits.
