Candidate forum sparks some debates

WASHINGTON — As rain poured outside and a dozen phones rang with tornado warnings notifications, candidates in the fast-approaching June 7 primary elections gathered in the Washington High School Auditorium Wednesday night for a forum hosted by the Washington Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Executive Director Michelle Redlinger said it was the highest turnout the event had seen in recent memory, especially for a midterm election cycle.

“I think that that is exciting because it shows that our community is interested in our candidates and about the issues that they represent,” she said. “We were able to provide great dialogue between the community and those that are running for office.”

After a brief introduction by candidates running in uncontested primary races, the event jumped into exchanges between those competing for a nomination.

State House hopefuls spar over Reynolds, abortion, and GOP platform

Iowa House District 92 candidates Jaron Rosien and Heather Hora agreed on some issues brought up during the event, including a high priority on budget balancing and maintaining freedom and personal responsibility.

More evident, though, were their differences. Early in their opening comments, a gap between the pair’s opinions of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was apparent.

Hora, whose campaign was endorsed by Reynolds last week, said she stood in full support of the governor.

“I think (Reynolds) is one of the greatest leaders of all time,” she said. “I am humbled by her endorsement. I look forward to working with her, to enact a pro-taxpayer, pro-family agenda.”

Hora went on to say she was proud to have the state leader’s approval.

“I don’t think she does anything without thinking it through, and she doesn’t take it lightly,” Hora said. “I think Gov. Reynolds endorsed me because she believes that I have the bold leadership qualities that she needs in Des Moines to help her get through pro-taxpayer, pro-parent and pro-education policies.”

Rosien distanced himself from the governor’s agenda, saying the high-up endorsement in a local primary didn’t sit well with him.

“I believe that endorsement is a perfect example of why you should vote Rosien,” he said. “I see it (as) less of an endorsement, and more like a pair of golden handcuffs … Gov. Reynolds so desperately wants to force the voucher program on citizens in Iowa that she is taken to meddling in these primary elections. It is unprecedented, and I think it is dangerous.”

Rosien said he didn’t oppose school choice, but was not entirely on board with Reynolds’ approach.

“What I have opposed is legislation that would maim public education (in the) process,” he said. “I have respect for Gov. Reynolds, but with all due respect, in this office, I will not work for Gov. Reynolds, I would work for the 33,000 people that are part of this district.”

Abortion policy was another point of contention, in light of a recently leaked Supreme Court Opinion draft suggesting the institution was prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Rosien said he would not commit to an overly strict state abortion policy if the landmark ruling were overturned.

“I would prefer that there not be abortion,” he said. “I want to protect all life, life of mothers included … In North America, 19.7 out of every 1,000 pregnancies are ectopic. That is the leading cause for maternal morbidity in the first trimester. I am not a mother, I am not pregnant, but I don’t think that we should sentence a mother to death by legislating with an iron fist.”

Hora said her views were a little more absolute.

“If Roe v. Wade is overturned, I am thankful that I live in Iowa where we have control of the House and Senate and Governorship,” she said. “I would support the heartbeat bill … I would support life.”

More broadly, the candidates disagreed over the importance of sticking to the party’s platform. While both say they are conservative, Hora called herself a “conservative’s conservative,” and vowed to follow it to the letter.

“I agree with all of our platform, and I believe that part of the strength of the Republican platform comes from the grassroots,” she said. “That platform is created by members of the Republican Party who meet several different times, they come up with the platform planks … to me, what the Republican Party represents is our platform.”

Hora also criticized her opponent’s appeals to centrists and Democrats.

“I know that things have been said about Democrats coming and voting in the Republican primary, and I believe that that is not what the primary process is for,” she said. “I believe that Republicans choose their candidate, Democrats choose their candidate, and the two meet in the general election.”

In contrast, Rosien said he didn’t fit the mold of a conventional Republican, but framed his differences as a good thing.

“I believe that I am a voice of reason and common sense, I am a future-minded Republican, a big-picture Republican, I don’t fit perfectly within the party,” he said. “There should be room for more than one cookie-cutter staunch conservative within our party. I sleep at night completely because I am transparent with you about that, and what you see with me as a candidate is what you get.”

Supervisor discussion shows mostly similar priorities, differing backgrounds

Washington County District 3 Supervisor Candidates Marcus Fedler and Bill Poch agreed on many items. Both said they were open to voluntary wind and solar energy in the county but opposed federal subsidies. Both said they wanted to reduce financial barriers to entry in the county, and both said they wanted to focus on minimizing tax burdens on county residents and businesses.

“If we can keep our taxes as low as possible, like Tennessee or Florida, it’s going to attract manufacturers, industry and business,” Poch said. “I think the state is doing a good job with zero taxes … for retirees. And we’re continuing, as Heather Hora said, to lower taxes within the state, it’s going to bring in business.”

Fedler said his commitment to lower taxes was an ideological issue.

“I want government to be so small we can’t see it,” he said. “I say that kind of tongue-in cheek because we’re inundated with it constantly. What I’ve done in the past is I’ve looked at departments, I’ve looked at budgets. And one of the ways we can do that is consolidation of departments in a new building.”

Fedler said that building project at Orchard Hill, which he leads a committee on, was a top priority for the next supervisor term.

“There’s a couple buildings out there right now that are underutilized,” he said. “The court house should be for court functions … one of the major priorities of the ARPA funds was to put all the county offices in one location. There were 23 items, nine of them all reference the same thing. I have experience doing that, I’d like to continue doing that, which is one of the main reasons why I’m running again.”

Poch was more abstract in his priority list, saying a long-term focus on economic development, affordable housing and community growth would be important.

“These things are not going to be done overnight, and I’m sure that the current board is working on this every time they meet,” he said. “There are funding avenues by both the state and federal agencies that we can tap into. And one of my big wishes, and this is a big wish, is I would like to see walking and bike paths continue to be increased and improved in our county … I believe that this would bring people to our county, young families and families.”

Recorder candidates tend to be on the same page

Washington County Recorder candidates Teresa Mangold and Dawn Fall-Hayes agreed on most issues brought up at the candidate forum. Both agreed that digitizing records should be a department priority, and that the office they were competing for should remain apolitical.

Where the two differed was their background, and more specifically, their government experience.

Fall-Hayes said she had government experience working at two intermediate care facilities.

“Part of my job was (making) sure they were in compliance with state laws and mandates,” she said. “As far as local politics, I’ve only recently began to get into local politics, but I do have experience with state and federal laws and mandates.”

Mangold said her local political background was also limited, but said her 15 years as a regional DNR staff made for relevant experience.

“I have started attending local Republican meetings with my run for the office, and I have enjoyed attending those and learning more about the Republican Party in Washington County,” she said. “As far as what I have to offer, my experience with the Department of Natural Resources, the 15 years there and experience with records in that aspect is a good segue into the county position.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com