Andrew Dunn, Christy Wolfe and Adam Zabner debate abortion, environment, education at District 90 forum
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The three Democrats running to represent the northern Iowa City District 90 in the state House of Representatives answered questions on key political issues from a small crowd Wednesday.
Andrew Dunn, Christy Wolfe and Adam Zabner participated in a League of Women Voters of Johnson County forum at The Center, making their pitch on why they should be the one to succeed state Rep. Christina Bohannan, who is running for Congress. Abortion, the environment, home rule and education were some of the main issues discussed.
The forum was moderated by LWV member Kelcey Patrick-Ferree. The LWV is a nonpartisan organization and regularly holds these forums before elections.
Democratic voters will pick the winner of this race in the June 7 primary election. That candidate will likely go on to run unopposed in the Nov. 8 general election. A full video of the voter forum is available on the City Channel 4 YouTube and Facebook page.
More: Iowa US Senate candidates visit Johnson County ahead of June 7 primary
Abortion takes center stage after U.S. Supreme Court leak
Dunn, who is a legislative aide in the Iowa Senate and former national Democratic Party campaign staffer, started his opening statement with the recent leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. That would allow states to institute bans on abortion.
Dunn said, if this becomes law, millions of people will lose access to abortion and encouraged people to donate to organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City.
"Abortion access must be protected, and we need to support those on the front line in that fight," he said.
Dunn later said much needs to be done with messaging and laws in the U.S. on abortion, despite polling that finds a large majority of Americans, and Iowans, support abortion being legal in some or most cases.
"We need to build bridges between urban and rural Iowa to get people on the right side of this issue, to get good Democrats elected across the state so that we can do what needs to be done, which is codify Roe v. Wade," he said.
Wolfe clerks for her sister, Iowa state Rep. Mary Wolfe. She spoke about her experience in the 1990s as an escort at an Indiana abortion and women's healthcare clinic where the providers were receiving death threats.
"I'm kind of tired that 30 years later we're still fighting for this right," Wolfe said. "I'm tired of this argument. Women have the right to choose."
Wolfe added a personal anecdote of previous non-viable pregnancies she experienced. She said she has vivid memories of sitting at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and discussing options with her doctor.
"Three people needed to be part of that decision. Me, my doctor and my midwife. Nobody else's morals, nobody else's values, nobody else's religion. It was a medical appointment and that's the way it should be," she said.
Zabner, an Iowa City native and also a former national Democratic Party campaign staffer, said in his opening statement that, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court news, it is clear how important state legislatures will be.
Zabner said the Iowa Legislature needs to pass laws that legalize and protect abortion access.
"What we saw this week, unfortunately, is that the federal government is not going to do it for us. This is going to be a fight on the state level," Zabner said.
He said Democrats need to organize, win rural districts and explain to Iowans what is on the ballot. Zabner pointed out that all three Republican candidates running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne in 2022 said that all abortions should be illegal.
"It is extremist and it is wrong, and Democrats need to stand up and fight," he said.
More: If Roe v. Wade is overturned, here's how abortion laws in each state will stand
Candidates speak against Reynolds' private school bill
Each candidate was asked what they would do to address Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' plan to give $55 million in aid to the state’s private schools, using money that would normally go to public schools. This controversial proposal has halted the Iowa Legislature's current session as lawmakers debate whether to pass it.
Wolfe, who went to Catholic schools for 16 years, said Iowa City has a strong Catholic school system, but there are communities where private schools are "coded" so parents can remove their kids from elements that they do not like about public schools.
"There's no reason public dollars for public education should go to private schools," she said.
Wolfe said it would be like if Iowa City funded someone's personal backyard pool, that no one else can swim in, while also funding the public pool at City Park. She also brought up education when asked about home rule and said Iowa's push to legislate on schools is taking power away from local school boards and alienating teachers.
Zabner recalled a moment when he was knocking on doors during a campaign he worked on in Plymouth County and found no one home because everyone was down the street attending a volleyball game at the local school.
"In rural Iowa, our schools are so so important, and in a lot of places they are the only thing communities have. And people there know that if they lose their school, they lose their community," he said.
Zabner said Democrats need to explain what is in this bill and how private schools have little oversight from the government.
Dunn said the first thing he would do is improve messaging to rural Iowa.
"Honest trust with people and communicating the actual numbers and cents of the deal is really what gets rural voters and even more moderate or conservative voters motivated into action," he said.
He said Iowa should elect more Democrats so Iowans don't have to worry about Republicans doing the right thing. He said organizing and strengthening the Democratic Party is key.
More: Lawmakers are fighting over private school funding. Here's how much Iowa already spends.
Wolfe, Zabner and Dunn debate Iowa clean energy solutions
Candidates fielded several questions dealing with the environment, including how to clean up Iowa's waterways, whether Iowa should reinstitute a solar tax credit and if Iowa should regulate industrial agriculture.
All three candidates signaled they would support a new solar tax credit and want Iowa to do more to incentivize solar energy use.
Zabner said it is important to get communities to run on renewable energy and electrify the economy. He said land-use practices needs to be changed and more funding needs to be given to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
"We have some of the worst water in the country here in Iowa," he said.
Zabner said the Iowa Legislature needs to take water quality and regulating industrial agriculture more seriously, and that he has been disappointed to see the lack of action by the state on these issues.
Wolfe said she's heard many people in her district say the state is "too beholden to big ag." But when she steps outside of Johnson County, the issue gets much more serious. She said many rural Iowans are protesting the use of farmland for large-scale solar panel farms because they believe strongly that Iowa farmland should be farmed.
"The people that are protesting are tied to the land and the importance of the land," she said.
She said education is key and that teaching children about the importance of sustainable agriculture could lead to change.
"I think that will be a way for us to break into that industrial complex of agriculture and work on a more sustainable agriculture," she said.
Dunn said the agricultural economy is very important in Iowa, but the current farming practices are not sustainable and won't last forever.
"It's extremely extractive, it destroys our water, destroys our soil and destroys our health," he said.
Dunn said he thinks the structure of Iowa's agricultural economy is chiefly a way to make sure rural Iowans don't live in poverty. He said that is important and the state needs to take care of them, but the state needs to transition away from the current system.
He said Iowa should diversify the crops that are grown in rural communities, import less food from out of state, create food hubs, and legalize recreational marijuana to improve outcomes for health, environment and a "sustainable agricultural economy." He said there should be a moratorium on concentrated animal feeding operations.
"The state has to be a partner, not an antagonist," he said.
More candidate forums planned before June 7 primary
LWV also hosted the Iowa House District 89 candidate forum.
Three more forums are scheduled over the next two weeks for contested races in the June 7 primary. Two are for the Democrats running for Senate District 45 and Johnson County Supervisor on May 9 in The Center. A third for House District 91 Republicans will be held on May 12 in the Clear Creek Amana Middle School cafeteria.
More information on the primary election, how to register to vote and how to vote early are available on the Johnson County Auditor's website: https://johnsoncountyiowa.gov/auditor/elections.
More: Former police officer sues Iowa City, alleging his resignation was coerced
George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (515) 350-6307, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Democrats Andrew Dunn, Christy Wolfe and Adam Zabner debate issues
