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Statehouse candidates participate in Fairfield chamber forum
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – Residents of the Fairfield area were treated to a candidate forum on Wednesday featuring races for the Iowa statehouse.
The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the forum Oct. 16 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. The first hour was dedicated to the Iowa House District 87 seat, a contest between incumbent Republican Jeff Shipley and Democratic challenger Thomas O’Donnell. The second hour was devoted to the race for Iowa Senate District 44 between incumbent Republican Adrian Dickey and Independent challenger Lisa Ossian.
HOUSE RACE
The candidates took turns answering questions from the moderator, Chamber Director Mendy McAdams. Throughout the first hour, Shipley expressed his desire to keep taxes low to attract businesses, since Iowa is competing with other states. He spoke about his opposition to the carbon-capture pipelines and the importance of defending property rights. O’Donnell said rural education was his top priority, and that the state has been underfunding public education. In general, he said the state was headed in the wrong direction, and that the governor and legislature had “given away the store” to corporations, while allowing the state’s water to be polluted.
O’Donnell said he’s heard from a local middle school that it’s no longer able to offer consumer science because of a lack of funding. He didn’t like the school voucher program the Legislature passed a few years ago because it was diverting tax money to private schools that he believes should go to public schools.
Shipley said it wasn’t accurate to say the state is underfunding education, and noted that Fairfield’s school district is spending nearly $16,000 per pupil, which is more than double what the voucher program gives parents who send their children to an accredited private school. He said the state is working on ways to streamline obtaining a teaching license, and spoke about the need to deliver education efficiently.
On the environment, the two candidates agreed that Iowa has room for improvement. O’Donnell said there are too many confined animal feeding operations, and that there should be more regulations on the application of manure, such as not allowing it when the ground is frozen. He said hogs and cattle are a big part of the economy, but also stressed that “farmers need to be good neighbors.”
Shipley said he shares in the embarrassment of not being able to swim in some lakes because of pollution. He also worried about the amount of microplastics that are entering the food chain.
Later in the forum, the candidates were asked to speak about how they would support area farmers. O’Donnell said he knows that farmers are facing high cash rents, and that’s why they feel it’s necessary to plant to the edge of streams. Shipley said creativity is needed to solve problems in agriculture, and he noted that he had earned an endorsement from Iowa Farm Bureau. O’Donnell responded that he “wouldn’t be proud” of an endorsement from Farm Bureau because it “represents corporate ag.” In a later question, Shipley contested this characterization of Farm Bureau, saying it was a grassroots organization that he’s worked with to protect property rights against eminent domain from the pipeline companies.
SENATE RACE
The discussion between Dickey and Ossian was more personal. In his opening remarks, Dickey said that Ossian is lying to the public by filing to run as an independent, since she had previously run as a Democrat and is registered as a Democrat as a member of the Oskaloosa City Council. Dickey suggested that Ossian was trying to run from the “toxic reputation” of the Democratic Party.
During Ossian’s opening remarks, she said that Dickey had hired an attorney in an attempt to invalidate her campaign paperwork. She also brought up the fact that Dickey was arrested while riding RAGBRAI, and that he initiated a bill to prohibit mugshots in journalistic accounts.
Dickey said those accusations were false. He didn’t hire an attorney to look into Ossian’s paperwork, he said, but he did file a complaint that some of the signatures of constituents that she obtained lacked an address and therefore should not have counted, and that Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the state had not enforced that provision before, and declined to do so in this case. He also said that he was ultimately cleared of any wrong-doing from his arrest during RAGBRAI and that the charges were dropped. He added that he had nothing to do with the bill to prohibit mugshots, and that he actually voted against it.
When discussing the issues, Dickey said his priorities were lowering taxes and easing restrictions on employers, helping them grow by “getting the hell out of the way.” Dickey touted the Legislature’s property tax reduction bill three years ago. Ossian said it was not a good idea and that it passed on the burden to local governments. She said taxes are needed for public safety and to supply things like emergency medical services.
The two candidates had different attitudes toward agriculture. Ossian said we need to “drop the scale of agriculture down,” and wants to see more variety and creativity in agriculture. Dickey said that was the wrong attitude because the government shouldn’t determine the size of farms, and that Iowans must recognize this is a farming state. He said hog buildings have gone up near his home, but they don’t smell too much.
On housing, Ossian said the “most green house is the one already built,” and that money should be put into salvaging existing structures. Dickey said sometimes refurbishing an old house can be more expensive than building new.
The state government has been building up its surplus or “rainy day fund” for several years, and that was another point of contention. Ossian said she would rather see that money go to things like bridges, roads and child care centers. Dickey said it’s good that the state sets aside money for emergencies, and part of the surplus is earmarked for potential unemployment claims if the economy takes a downturn.
The two had differing attitudes toward the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Ossian said the state is not interested in supporting art that doesn’t make money, and that was the wrong way to evaluate artists. Dickey said Fairfield is a mecca or arts and culture, but it didn’t achieve that status through government intervention. Ossian said art archives do require money from the state, though.
For those wondering if they can vote on either of these races, Iowa House District 87 includes the southern half of Jefferson County including Fairfield, all of Van Buren County and the southwest corner of Henry County, including Mt. Pleasant. Iowa Senate District 44 is a combination of Iowa House Districts 87 and 88. Iowa House District 88 includes all of Keokuk County, the eastern half of Mahaska County including Oskaloosa, and the northern half of Jefferson County, excluding Fairfield.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
