3 candidates vie for Hiawatha City Council seat in special election

HIAWATHA — Voters may cast their ballots in the three-way race Tuesday to fill a Hiawatha City Council vacancy.

Three candidates pitched themselves to Hiawatha voters in a forum held Thursday by the League of Women Voters of Linn County at the Hiawatha Community Center, offering their perspectives on subjects ranging from affordable housing to promoting walkability.

A special election is being held to fill the vacancy created when Steve Dodson was elected Hiawatha mayor in November. He had two years left in his four-year council term in an at-large seat.

The candidates vying for the seat on the six-member council — CJ Flynn, Adam Kirkpatrick and Jill Weigel — largely wanted to continue the city’s current path on development, but saw opportunity to increase neighborhood engagement.

While state lawmakers introduced but did not pass a bill this year that would have given Iowa city councils more direct authority over library boards, all candidates spoke favorably of the city maintaining strong support for its public library and opposed book bans.

Flynn, a small-business owner, said his areas of focus are infill development and walkability, community safety and increasing housing affordability and options.

He said he wants to promote more neighborhood hubs where people can walk to their favorite spots, boosting foot traffic and activity to local businesses while fostering healthy lifestyles and growing the tax base.

To expand affordable housing options, Flynn spoke of increasing “missing middle housing” ranging from high-density apartments to small multifamily units and single-family homes. He mentioned Cedar Rapids’ expansion of accessory dwelling units as something to explore.

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“I live in a duplex. I live in one unit and rent the other unit out,” Flynn said. “ … I would like it if we could build more like that because that's a win-win. It really helped me go from lower middle-class to upper middle-class income, having that rental income and then also getting tax breaks, having that, and that would really add more variety of the housing.”

Flynn also agreed with other candidates’ ideas of promoting events or neighborhood contacts to increase a sense of community within neighborhoods.

On the possibility for automated speed cameras for areas such as 18th Avenue off Blairs Ferry Road NE and Boyson Road, Flynn said it can be like “a NASCAR race” at times the way motorists speed through. But before installing any devices, he said he would want to understand the implications on revenue and have them only in select spots.

By campaigning and door knocking across the city, Flynn said he has tried to get to know a lot of people in Hiawatha to understand their interests.

“When I get elected ideally, I would want to continue with that — just hearing everybody's voice and just being engaged with the community,” Flynn said.

Kirkpatrick, a facilities manager at BAE Systems, said the approximately 300 units coming online on Boyson Road “is a great opportunity for that growth” in homes that are affordable for young families. “And then once that's outgrown, possibly see where other similar buildings or facilities could be created and built for that demographic,” he said.

Previously a police officer, Kirkpatrick said he opposed speed cameras and felt there were other methods, such as adding speed signs and stop signs or constructing roundabouts, to educate people on their speed.

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He said the city could expand events or things like food trucks to areas besides Guthridge Park to promote walkability and interaction among neighborhoods.

“It takes those individuals within the community and within their neighborhood to kind of be that liaison or the lead person to glue and gel their neighborhood together,” Kirkpatrick said.

If elected, Kirkpatrick said he has a “servant leadership mindset.”

“I have that listen, learn, lead type mentality,” Kirkpatrick said. “I like to just hear everybody's story. I've always been someone that's passionate about helping those that sometimes can't help themselves or need the help and they don't speak out, so I'll be that voice for them.”

Weigel, who works at the UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Child Protection Center as a forensic interviewer, said it’s important as Hiawatha grows to continue to develop businesses, recreational systems and dining options.

On expanding housing affordability for young families, she said “continuing to look at that in terms of who needs housing and what level of housing people are looking for or what type of housing people are looking for and ensuring that we can continue to accommodate that as we move forward will be important.”

She proposed having “neighborhood points of contact in various neighborhoods to think about things like welcoming new neighbors or having ongoing social events or even just having an awareness of who's in their neighborhood.”

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Weigel said she is not for or against speed cameras, but would want to review data to see where the problem areas are, monitor how often people speed in certain areas and then determine the police capacity to address the problem.

Ultimately, Weigel said she would aim to “be a representative of everyone” if elected.

“I think unfortunately, politics have become about a politician or the person who wants to get things done the way they want to do them,” Weigel said. “And I don't think that's how it should be.”

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