DeGraw suspends campaign ahead of Iowa City Council special election primary

IOWA CITY — Voters in Iowa City Council District C will cast ballots in a primary next week to decide which two candidates will advance to a citywide March 4 special election to fill a vacant seat on the council.

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Three candidates filed to run for the open seat, which was vacated when Andrew Dunn resigned Jan. 1. However, last Friday, candidate Sharon DeGraw — who works as a book designer and publishing house owner — announced she was suspending her campaign due to a personal matter. DeGraw’s name will remain on the ballot because it’s too late to have it removed.

Real estate agent Ross Nusser, and Oliver Weilein, who works for System Unlimited serving adults with intellectual disabilities, are still vying for the open seat.

How to vote in the special election primary

Only District C residents are eligible to vote in the primary, but all city residents can vote in the general election. District C includes downtown Iowa City and north-central Iowa City.

In person early voting is already taking place at the county auditor’s office, located in the county administration building at 913 S. Dubuque St. in Iowa City.

Early voting is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Feb. 3.

Polling places in District C will open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. on Election Day.

Voters in District C can confirm their polling place on the Johnson County website at gis.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/pollingplaces.

Election Day voter registration will be available at polling locations.

Candidates explain their approach to state policies that affect local residents

A candidate forum hosted by the Johnson County League of Women Voters on Monday revealed differences in the ways Nusser and Weilein said they would approach state and federal policies that impact Iowa City.

The candidates were asked about state lawmakers’ efforts to limit local government’s ability to raise property taxes — a major source of revenue for city governments. They also were asked how they would respond to legislation that may target transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community.

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“We in Iowa City are a blue dot in a very red state, and we do not need to put a target on our backs,” Nusser said. “We need to avoid further state and federal intervention, and that means that we have to go along and figure out how we can deal with the legislation coming down from the state. We need to work with them, not against them.”

Nusser said he doesn’t know exactly how the city council would respond to legislation, or proposals at the state and federal levels, but that he would rely on city staff and other elected officials throughout the process to support Iowa City residents.

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While Weilein said he would be cautious in challenging any state actions, he added that he’s not going to shy away from decisions that may upset lawmakers at the statehouse.

“I think the perspective is from someone who is willing to think outside the box, to find solutions to problems that we have … instead of saying we need to be compliant to the state or the federal government,” Weilein said at the forum. “I think that I'm someone who's not afraid of these people, and I'm not afraid to have a target on myself.”

Candidates address voter concerns

Both candidates were asked questions about their personal lives and how they may affect their service on the city council.

Nusser was asked how he would balance his professional career in real estate with any council matters that may conflict.

“I'm not going to promise anything that would be a detriment to my career. That would just be unfair of me to both the public and to myself, and so I'll do everything that I possibly can to support the north side and to continue its incredible history,” he said in response to a question about whether he would be involved in any development of luxury housing on the north side of the city.

Nusser added that serving on the city council likely would be detrimental to his career as it would limit his development opportunities. He said he would recuse himself from voting on any matters that could be a conflict of interest.

Weilein was asked to respond to voters who are concerned about his past social media posts, specifically photos of assault rifles.

“... They're trying to put things in front of people to intentionally impugn my character and mischaracterize my character,” Weilein said of people who’ve circulated images of his past social media posts. “On social media, things like just posting pictures of myself at the shooting range ... people reviewing that as glorifying violence when nothing could be further from the truth.”

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com