Fairfield chamber to host primary debate June 2

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce will host a debate Thursday, June 2 for three local primary races.

The candidate debate will begin at 6 p.m. at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center and feature a county attorney race and two state house races. An hour will be devoted to each of the three races. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.

The evening will start with a debate between two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for Jefferson County Attorney: incumbent Chauncey Moulding and challenger Ed Harvey.

The second debate will feature two current Iowa House Representatives who will square off in the Republican primary race for House District 87: Jeff Shipley and Joe Mitchell. Shipley resides in Birmingham while Mitchell resides in Mt. Pleasant, which meant that the two were in separate House districts until the new district map was approved by the Iowa Legislature in 2021, putting them in the same district. District 87 covers all of Van Buren County, the southern half of Jefferson County including Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, and the central and western part of Henry County including Mt. Pleasant.

Attendees also will be treated to a debate between two Republican candidates vying to represent the party in House District 88: Helena J. Hayes and Dustin D. Hite. District 88 covers the northern half of Jefferson County that is not in District 87, plus all of Keokuk County and slightly more than half of Mahaska County including Oskaloosa.

Members of the public can submit questions to chamber@fairfieldiowa.com or by calling the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce at 641-472-2111. There will not be a microphone for the public to ask questions during the event.

The debate is sponsored by Freeman Kevenides Law Firm. The debate will be moderated by Ian Bee from Jefferson County Health Center. Jason Strong will livestream the event for the Fairfield Media Center.

The primary election is June 7. Voters must register as a member of a political party to participate in that party’s primary election.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com