A refusal to allow the preference granted under this chapter, or a reduction of the salary for a position with intent to bring about the resignation or discharge of the incumbent, shall entitle the applicant or incumbent, as the case may be, to maintain an action of mandamus to right the wrong. The applicant or incumbent may elect, in the alternative, to maintain an action for judicial review in accordance with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, chapter 17A, if that is otherwise applicable to their case. An action of mandamus shall be filed by an applicant or incumbent within three hundred days after a refusal to allow the preference, or a reduction of the salary for a position with intent to bring about the resignation or discharge of the incumbent.