Meet the candidates in Iowa City Council’s special election

IOWA CITY — Voters in Iowa City will cast ballots in a primary Feb. 4 to decide the two candidates will advance to a March 4 special election for the vacant District C seat on the Iowa City Council.

Book designer and publishing house owner Sharon DeGraw, real estate agent Ross Nusser, and Oliver Weilein, who works for System Unlimited serving adults with intellectual disabilities, are all vying for the open seat.

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.

Sharon DeGraw

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DeGraw, who serves as cochair of the Northside Neighborhood steering committee, sees city council as a natural next step.

If elected to city council, DeGraw hopes to balance neighborhood preservation while increasing opportunities for home ownership. She said she would be thoughtful about zoning change requests to ensure a neighborhood doesn’t shift from residential to high density.

DeGraw said she sees pressure to develop or redevelop areas close to downtown.

“I think it's important to alleviate some of that stress and ask city staff to look at other areas of Iowa City that could become hubs where there are people living,” said DeGraw. “There could be businesses and interesting points of cultural interest there, and that way we spread out what's good about Iowa City, and it doesn't have to be concentrated in just the downtown area.”

DeGraw pointed to the Riverfront Crossing area as an example of new development. She also would like the city to explore different paths to home ownership and affordable housing access.

DeGraw wants to explore the possibility of using community land trusts, where a non profit owns land that affordable housing is built upon, to increase access to housing.

“That's really empowering for people who are frustrated with finding that housing is expensive and they are taking a significant portion of their earnings every year to make other people wealthier. That isn't necessarily upon city government to do that, but we need to talk about it so that people get interested,” DeGraw said of community land trusts.

DeGraw, a book designer and owner of Empyrean Press, is interested in creating a public showcase featuring art, writing and film to highlight Iowa City’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature.

DeGraw has previous city government experience having spent six years on the historic preservation commission.

“I'm not a natural born politician, but I think I am good at doing the things that a city council person would need to do, which is listen to people, interact with many different constituents, and then think carefully and thoughtfully about any matter that is before the city council, and be a good person for analyzing and processing what's going on and have creative ideas for solutions,” she said.

Ross Nusser

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Nusser is president of the board of directors at Community and Family Resources, which provides treatment and education about substance abuse and mental illnesses. He also serves on the board of Successful Living, a nonprofit that helps those dealing with chronic mental illness.

He said those experiences have shaped his priorities. If elected, he would like to expand mental health resources and affordable housing stock in the city.

Nusser specifically sees a need for more detox beds and inpatient treatment centers for juvenile and female patients.

“It's incredible that a city like ours, and the size of our city, with the resources of our city, doesn't have these things. These are things that we need to prioritize to be able to help those in need and really our most vulnerable populations,” said Nusser.

Nusser said one way to provide more affordable housing is for the city to support the work of area nonprofits through policy or financial resources.

“We have all these organizations that they have the framework already. We need to punch out more units and more beds, because we're over our occupancy right now, let's do it the most efficient way,” said Nusser.

Nusser, a real estate agent, said expanding affordable housing stock doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution. Typically, a household must be at or below 30 percent of the area median income level to qualify for certain affordable housing.

Nusser hopes to create more housing for those households, while also meeting the needs of people who fall into the range of 30-60 percent area median income.

As state lawmakers consider limits to cities’ ability to raise property taxes — a major source of revenue for city governments — Nusser said he plans to work with other council members through changes in the city budget.

Nusser is an agent for all types of real estate — from residential to commercial — but said the majority of his work involves helping people buy and sell houses. He also was involved in the development of the five-story mixed-use building at the corner of Market and Linn streets that opened in 2019.

“Real estate is like a dirty word in Iowa City, which is unfortunate. I love my job. I love helping people. They generally feel happy and positive about the interaction,” he said.

Nusser has not completed any other large development projects since 2019, though he said he’s hopeful to be involved in future projects in the Corridor.

Oliver Weilein

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Weilein, who plays in multiple local punk bands, said he has a problem with authority, and the decision to run for elected office — to be in a position of authority — was a mental roadblock.

But it’s one he’s willing to overcome to accomplish one mission: expanding permanent supported housing in Iowa City.

“I do think that there is a path forward to even set a goal in the city council that … we are going to effectively end homelessness by this time in Iowa City. That's how ambitious that I want to be,” said Weilein.

Weilein said there’s momentum in local government to expand supportive housing, specifically for people in Iowa City experiencing homelessness. Council member Laura Bergus and County Supervisors Jon Green and Mandi Remington have endorsed Weilein’s campaign.

“I'm someone who does not necessarily believe that electing all the right people is going to solve our problems, which is ironic coming from someone who's running for office, but I think it can be part of the solution for a problem in strategic ways, kind of like right now,” Weilein said.

Weilein said he’d like to explore ways to increase access to affordable housing that does not include developer incentives. This could be inclusive zoning, or increasing Iowa City’s public housing stock.

He said increasing public housing — with fair rents — also could be a source of revenue in the midst of lost property tax revenue.

“I think that instead of immediately saying, how are we going to cut all of these vital services that keep people afloat in Iowa City, we should instead ask the question, how are we going to make up the difference in creative ways in which we can get revenue streams that isn't just property taxes,” said Weilein.

While Weilein has the support of some local politicians, he has drawn ire from some state lawmakers for a video he posted on social media of an American flag burning.

“I think, in a place like the United States that is so entrenched in nationalism, lots of stock is put on these symbols and I think a lot of people don't understand when someone comes in and says, my allegiance is to people, to my community, to my neighbors, to the land we're on, to the ecosystem, to the animals that we share this land with. And that comes first and foremost, before an allegiance to a nation state or a political party,” said Weilein.

Weilein is active in the local arts scene, serving on the board of Public Space One. He also is a founding board member of Iowa City Tenants Union and has a history of advocating for tenants’ rights.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com