Candidates for state, county offices face off at forum

WASHINGTON - Candidates for state and local elected position spoke about their qualifications and future desired accomplishments during a forum on Tuesday, with marijuana and taxes a popular topic among state candidates.

Washington County Board of Supervisors, Iowa House District 78, House District 84 and District 42 Senate candidates all attended the forum in Washington hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

On the local side, Stan Stoops and Lorraine Williams are running for the Washington County 4th District supervisor.

Williams said she has invested her time and resources into Washington because of her vision to make it a destination place. She said her management skills as a business owner and entrepreneur are qualifications for the position.

Williams said she learns by doing.

'I just need to be thrown into the deep end of the pool, and I will learn to swim,” she said.

If elected, Williams said she hopes to create new living spaces, create low-income housing and invest in the preservation of older homes. On the agricultural side, Williams hopes to create niche opportunities for farmers to plant non-traditional plants.

Stoops said his almost eight years in the position serves as his qualifications. When asked what he would like to accomplish in office, Stoops said nothing outside of focusing on the agenda items.

'My decision-making style is getting to the bottom of the agenda the best that I can to make an informed vote,” he said. 'That's what the job's about.”

When asked whether or not they believe the county is adequately funded, Stoops said yes, but the county needs to be careful with its resources.

Williams said she is not qualified to answer yes or no, but said the mantra in the area is 'we don't have any money.” She continued by listing a few ways to increase funding such as seeking grants and partnering with the cities.

One question from the audience both candidates agreed on is if they would support countywide zoning - no, both candidates said.

On the statewide House and Senate side of the forum, popular topics of discussion included taxes and marijuana.

The qualifications of the candidates range from experience in politics, military, education and more.

When candidates were asked whether or not the state was adequately funded, a party line formed, with Republicans saying yes, and most Democrats saying no.

Republican candidate for state House District 78 Jarad Klein said he does believe the state is adequately funded, stating he doesn't have friends and neighbors begging for him to take more money in taxes.

'But I do hear from them asking me to get it cut,” Klein said.

Jeff Reichman, Republican candidate for State Senate District 42, and Joe Mitchell, Republican candidate for State House District 84, agreed with Klein. Mitchell said Iowans are adequately taxed and sometimes over taxed.

Klein said while in his position, the House has passed the largest property tax cut, income tax cuts and balanced the budget.

Klein said the state has a full 'rainy day” fund, and it has a surplus.

Reichman asked if anyone in the audience wanted to pay more taxes. He said the issue is managing the resources the state has.

'We would like to have more money in, but the flip side is, people would not be happy doing that,” Reichman said.

Rich Taylor , Democrat candidate for state Senate in District 42, agreed that the state needs to better manage the resources. He said the government is not doing what the people of Iowa want, stating the biggest priorities should be mental health and K-12 education.

Jeff Fager, Democrat candidate for House District 84, said taxes are not the only means for increasing the net revenues for the state. The state is giving tax credits to corporations who do not need it, he said.

'We need to think about how we give away our resources and how there are other streams of revenues,” Fager said.

Kimberly Davis, the Democrat running for state House District 78, said the state is not well funded. She said this is because some of the largest businesses are not paying taxes, and Iowa is not profiting from cannabis legalization.

'It would be incredible for our farmers to have a new cash crop,” Davis said.

She said Iowa could manufacture and produce hemp products better than anyone else.

Rich Taylor and Fager agreed with Davis, believing it should be legalized recreationally in Iowa.

Taylor said he would like recreational marijuana to be taxed and controlled just like alcohol.

Klein said it is already legal to grown hemp in the state and he managed the bill. He said he has been a leading proponent of legalizing medical marijuana.

'If it is for medical purposes, I will not tax it,” Klein said. 'I don't think we need to tax sick people more.”