Democratic state Rep. Amy Nielsen debates Republican Wayne Grell and Libertarian Jacob Wenck

Three candidates running for Iowa House District 85 discussed education policy, marijuana legalization and eminent domain at a candidate forum Thursday night.

Democratic state Rep. Amy Nielsen, an incumbent who has held office since 2016, is being challenged by Republican Wayne Grell and Libertarian Jacob Wenck, both residents of North Liberty. House District 85 covers North Liberty, Solon and most of rural northwestern Johnson County.

The forum was hosted by the League of Women Voters in North Liberty City Council chambers. The full forum can be watched online at https://vimeo.com/759534149.

Nielsen is the current representative for Iowa House District 77, which covers North Liberty and much of rural western and southern Johnson County. She is a former mayor of North Liberty, the first woman ever to serve in that role. Nielsen sat in her old seat at the dais, which is now occupied by Mayor Chris Hoffman at City Council meetings.

Grell is a retired business owner who owned warehouses, packaging and trucking businesses, and a bar. No Republican ran in the primary, but Grell was nominated by a party convention made up of delegates from the district on July 7.

Wenck is a resident of North Liberty and the only Libertarian running in any Johnson County race.

Election Day is Nov. 8 and early voting begins Oct. 19. More information on the election can be found at https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/auditor/elections.

More:Johnson County voting guide 2022: What's on the ballot, how to register and how to vote early

Candidates take stances on private school vouchers, critical race theory and transgender bathroom bill

One of the main issues facing Iowa in the next legislative session is whether to approve Gov. Kim Reynolds' proposal on using public funding for vouchers for students to go to private schools, which failed to pass in 2022. Grell, Nielsen and Wenck split on their support of that proposal and other education topics that divide Americans.

Grell said he thinks spending public money on private schools will "keep the public schools in line." He said parents having the option to send their children to private schools with public-funded scholarships could make public schools work harder to provide a better education.

Grell went on to say he doesn't think children in schools should be allowed to use bathrooms based on their gender identity and said that should also apply to locker rooms.

The candidates were asked about their position on "critical race theory,” a decades-old legal theory that examines how slavery's legacy continues to influence American society. It is sometimes taught in college courses, but the term was used in many 2021 local school board elections to stir divisions about teaching children about race and ethnicity at younger ages despite the concept not being taught in Iowa's public schools.

Grell said teaching critical race theory is "garbage" and should be forgotten about.

Nielsen said she thinks Reynolds' proposal is a bad idea that will cost taxpayers and cut money from public schools. She pointed out that Iowa already funds private and home-school programs and thinks these options are given a fair portion, compared to public school funding, which hasn't kept up with the rate of inflation.

"The way to grow Iowa is not to divest in our public schools. Public schools have been a cornerstone of this state from the very beginning," she said.

Nielsen said critical race theory is used as a talking point to scare people and isn't taught in Iowa's schools outside of some graduate programs. She said there was not a need for Iowa to address it in the Legislature when it passed in 2021 and was signed into law.

Nielsen said Iowa "bullying" children based on their gender identity does not sit well with her. She said what happens in people's private lives is no one else's business.

"I don't have a problem with having unisex bathrooms or gender-neutral bathrooms. I don't understand why other people do," she said.

Wenck said he doesn't think Iowa should be allocating public funds to a private business, which he said private schools are. He said if people are being taxed to fund education, it should stay in public schools.

Wenck said critical race theory teaches equity, instead of equality, and said he believes in equal opportunity rather than equal outcome. He said there are instances where the government doesn't treat people fairly, like the criminal justice system.

Wenck said he wouldn't support allowing children in schools to use bathrooms based on their gender identity. He said bathrooms should be separated by people's biological sex.

More:Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Christina Bohannan spar on abortion in 1st Congressional District debate

Nielsen, Grell and Wenck find common ground on marijuana legalization and eminent domain

All three candidates found common ground on several issues during the forum, including favoring marijuana legalization, opposing the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline projects, and whether state government should return authority to local governments.

Nielsen, Grell and Wenck all voiced support for returning powers preempted by the state government to local governments.

Iowa's Republican majority has eroded local control in recent years, blocking city and county government actions, matching a trend seen in other states with single-party control. This can be seen with Johnson County's minimum wage law, a practice the state government banned years ago after the county enacted a higher wage than the state's.

Nielsen and Wenck said they want to legalize adult use of recreational marijuana. Nielsen said she looks to continue her efforts to push for this, along with protecting the right to have an abortion and investing in public schools.

"It doesn't make sense for the state to extort and jail citizens for something that they choose to put in their body," Wenck said.

Grell did not address marijuana legalization until his closing statement, when he said he doesn't care whether marijuana is legal. He said he would support making it legal and taxing it to put less burden on property and paychecks taxes.

Grell said he believes eminent domain is a "necessary evil" that governments have to use sometimes to get projects done by acquiring private land. He said he would support reforms such as restricting the timeline and requiring entities to pay 150% to 200% of the property value of land they acquire through this practice.

"Especially the people who do not want to get rid of (their land). They have to get paid for their future and not today's price," he said.

The possible path of a proposed carbon capture pipeline by Wolf Carbon Solutions cuts through House District 85 in northwestern Johnson County, and the company could request Iowa use eminent domain to help complete the project.

Wenck went further than his opponents by stating eminent domain should be outlawed. He said the practice should not be used for the benefit of a private entity, either.

"Most people have some sort of price they would be willing to part ways with. If you can't come to an agreement, then that's tough luck and you're going to have to talk to somebody else," Wenck said.

Nielsen said eminent domain is an "unfortunate tool" that Iowa governments have, but every once in a while it has to be used. She pointed to how eminent domain was used to acquire land for Liberty High School on Dubuque Street.

"Ultimately, it came down to that the public good overrode the private property rights," Nielsen said.

Nielsen said the state has safeguards in place to protect private property and agricultural land, but carveouts should not be made for individual projects.

More:Iowa Democrats want to legalize marijuana. Why they think it’s a winning campaign message

Stances on guns, abortion and accepting the results of the 2020 election divide candidates

The three candidates were also asked whether they believed the results of the 2020 presidential election were legitimate, and their position on the proposed ballot question to add strict scrutiny protections for gun rights to the Iowa Constitution. This amendment puts language into the state constitution that is stricter than the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and would make it extremely difficult to pass gun control legislation.

The claim that the 2020 U.S. election was stolen, rigged, fraudulent or unfair has been proven false.

Nielsen answered that she absolutely believes Joe Biden was legitimately elected president.

Wenck said he didn't know, but thinks Biden was legitimately elected.

Grell questioned the outcome of the 2020 election. He claimed people can never know what the real results were and blamed "the press" for being one-sided.

"I'm not going to say the numbers were wrong, I don't know that. But did the candidates get treated equal? Not at all," he said.

Wenck said he supports adding strict scrutiny protections for gun ownership to the Iowa Constitution. He said he would go further and advocate against the National Firearms Act, which he called a "government tax."

"I support expanding people's Second Amendment rights," he said.

Grell said people should have the right to own and carry and weapons and that gun laws are "worthless." He claimed gun laws only affect law-abiding citizens, not criminals. Despite this, Grell said he is open to background checks and firearms training and did not indicate how he would vote on the ballot measure in November.

"I'm just not saying you should hand them out. We have to make responsible laws that try to keep the guns to the people who are responsible for owning a gun," Grell said.

Nielsen said she views the ballot measure as "reckless" and said she supported adding the exact text of the Second Amendment to the Iowa constitution rather than the strict scrutiny language.

"What we have before us this November is way too open and we need to make sure we're sticking to what is safe for Iowans. The Second Amendment says it well enough that we don't need to add anything to it," she said.

The candidates also disagreed on abortion access.

Nielsen said abortion should be accessible and legal, which a recent Iowa Poll found a majority of Iowans support.

Wenck said abortions in the first trimester should be allowed, along with exceptions if the life of a mother is put at risk by carrying a pregnancy.

Grell said he is "pro-life" but that there should be exceptions for the life of a mother and other medical reasons. He said he "recognizes the women's right" and there is a give-and-take on the issue for him.

More:'Founding mother' of Iowa City abortion clinic saddened, not surprised, by overturn of Roe v. Wade

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: Amy Nielsen, Wayne Grell and Jacob Wenck debate issues at forum