Our endorsements for the Iowa Legislature

Correction: The endorsement in Senate District 46 has been edited. State Sen. Dawn Driscoll did not vote against the final version of the Education Savings Accounts bill.

Note: Our legislative endorsements are based on questionnaires filled out by the candidates and other information, including news coverage and campaign websites.

House District 79

In House District 79, which includes northwest Cedar Rapids, Democratic Rep. Tracy Ehlert is being challenged by Republican Barclay Woerner. Based upon her performance and experience at the Statehouse, our endorsement goes to Ehlert.

Ehlert is a childhood educator who owns a learning center and consulting business that works in the Cedar Rapids school district. So, not surprisingly, her top issues are addressing a shortage of child care, which is also a workforce issue, education and health care, particularly mental health.

Ehlert points out that although lawmakers created a children’s mental health system, it has yet to be fully funded. As a result, a lack of providers is spawning long waitlists. She would direct more state funding to the system, as well as a shortage of affordable child care slots.

Ehlert supports a “cradle-to-career” education agenda that expands preschool, adequately funds K-12 public schools and provides more access to jobs, trades programs or college.

Both candidates have seen firsthand the effects of cancer in Iowa, where rates are high and rising. Woerner’s young was diagnosed with leukemia. Ehlert was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. Each would put an emphasis on addressing Iowa’s cancer rate.

House District 80

In House District 80, which includes Robins, Hiawatha and part of northeast Cedar Rapids, Democrat Aime Wichtendahl and Republican John Thompson are vying for an open seat. Based on their policy stances, Wichtendahl earns our endorsement.

Wichtendahl, who serves on the Hiawatha City Council, recognizes the issues Iowa faces in developing a workforce, making child care more affordable and accessible and improving public schools. We agree with Wichtendahl that politicized attacks against public schools, teachers and curriculum must end.

With regard to major problems in Iowa’s nursing homes, Wichtendahl would seek funding for home care, steering seniors away from care facilities for as long as possible. Forgivable loans, the Democrat argues, could be used to persuade students to pursue health care careers, including senior care and mental health care.

Wichtendahl would enshrine reproductive rights in the Iowa Constitution, as well as support laws guaranteeing access to contraceptives and IVF.

As for making Iowa more attractive for investment, Wichtendahl wrote, “Stop the culture wars. Stop the unprecedented intrusion of government into people's private medical, health, and reproductive care.” We agree.

House District 83

In House District 83, which covers much of rural Linn County to the north and east of Cedar Rapids, Rep. Cindy Golding is being challenged by Democrat Kent McNally.

After a lengthy discussion, we concluded we can’t make an endorsement in the race.

McNally, who has worked in the electrical trade for more than 30 years, provided us with short, vague answers to our issue questions and skipped questions on our survey regarding abortion, education improvements and how to address mental health issues.

Golding gave us lengthy answers. But in the details, we found red flags.

On water quality, Golding seemed to sidestep the fact that 90 percent of nitrates in Iowa waterways come from farming operations. She said, “While we currently measure nitrogen contamination from agriculture, we need to investigate all sources that contribute to decreased water quality – PFAS, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, etc. These may come from landfills, industry, sewage plant leaks, and storm water run-off.”

We’re not against addressing other types of pollution. But when it comes to nitrates, talk of sources aside from cropland is a distraction.

On improving education, Golding supports a legislative role in curriculum. She said, “Students should be taught their role and responsibility as a citizen in our Constitutional Republic.”

It sounds innocuous. But in the last few years, lawmakers have targeted teachings about racism if they make white students uncomfortable. This past session, the Republican majority approved a bill dictating history and social studies lessons that must be taught. We’ve opposed these measures, and fear more are on the way.

House District 86

In House District 86, which includes Coralville and parts of Iowa City, Rep. Dave Jacoby is being challenged by Republican Stephen Knoner. Looking at Jacoby’s long legislative experience and stands on issues, he receives our endorsement.

Jacoby is running for his seventh term. Currently he is the top Democrat on the tax writing Ways and Means Committee, and is a member of the Commerce, Natural Resources, and Government Oversight committees.

Among his top three issues are talking water quality and cancer rates “simultaneously” and “true tax reform” that benefits more than the wealthiest taxpayers. He also wants to restore Iowans’ personal freedom. “Government must get out of our bedrooms, patient rooms, libraries, and checking accounts,” Jacoby wrote.

Jacoby would enact performance measures for water quality. “It also needs to be made clear who is paying for clean water. It may be unpopular, but without measurable benchmarks, we are wasting taxpayer dollars,” Jacoby wrote.

On health care, including mental health, Jacoby would scrap Iowa’s private managed care system and make reimbursements directly to health care providers.

House District 91

In House District 91, which covers all of Iowa County and parts of northern and western Johnson County, Republican Judd Lawler is up against Democrat Jay Gorsh. Our endorsement goes to Gorsh.

Lawler, a retired assistant U.S. attorney, did not return our questionnaire. Among the issues listed on his website are priorities that give us pause. He insists the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments to the Constitution are “constantly under attack.

“And those who conspire to take away our life and liberty usually attack the weakest among us,” Lawler says on his website. He also cryptically refers to schools that spend time “training children to blame others for whatever problems they have … Let's not teach them to be hopeless, despairing victims.”

Lawler has the endorsement of ultra-conservative Rep. Brad Sherman, who previously held the seat, and Americans for Prosperity, which supported efforts to remake AEAs, create publicly funded private school scholarships and weaken child labor laws.

Gorsh, director of University of Iowa Wild, a wilderness education program teaching kids from 50 school districts, has no similar political baggage.

Gorsh’s combination of experience with education and the environment could be an asset as both issues could be on the legislative agenda. He argues public schools have been underfunded and environmental conservation should be a bipartisan issue. Schools work best, he contends, when teachers and parents forge relationships.

Gorsh’s formula for making Iowa more attractive is simple. “Allow for reproductive freedom, allow for diverse books to be read, allow for people to drink clean water,” he wrote.

House District 92

In House District 92, which covers all of Washington County and much of southern Johnson County outside Iowa City, Republican Rep. Heather Hora is being challenged by Democrat Anna Banowsky, a teaching assistant at the university.

We share many of Banowsky’s stances on legislative issues, so she earns our endorsement.

Education is a top priority for Banowsky, who would seek to increase funding for public schools and AEAs, and opposes using public money to pay for Education Savings Accounts for private school students. Banowsky contends public school staff must have the resources needed to do their jobs.

“I think that public education is vital to democracy, as it allows individuals to learn more about the history, literature, and art of their community; it also allows people to learn how to spot misinformation and how to combat it,” Banowsky wrote in her questionnaire.

Hora, co-owner and vice president of a family farming corporation, not surprisingly, worked on pro-agriculture legislation.

But Hora was involved in other issues. She led a debate in the House Education Committee to pass legislation that defines man and woman in Iowa law, creating a legal barrier for transgender Iowans. Trans people could be barred from bathrooms, locker rooms, domestic violence shelters and other public accommodations that do not align with their gender at birth. The bill allowed separate accommodations that are “not inherently unequal.” It passed the committee but wasn’t debated in the House.

Hora complained about inappropriate material being used in public schools and supported allowing guns to be stowed in locked cars in school parking lot. And in July 2023, she was named a co-chair of the Farmers for Trump coalition.

SENATE

Senate District 40

In Senate District 40, which includes Robins, Hiawatha and much of the northwest side of Cedar Rapids, Republican Chris Gulick and Democratic Rep. Art Staed are vying for an open seat vacated by Sen. Todd Taylor.

This is one of those instances when we wish Gulick and Staed were running in separate districts so we could endorse both. Gulick, a former Cedar Rapids City Council member, has important experience in the community, its people and issues. Staed has served seven terms in the Iowa House and has a deep understanding of state issues affecting the metro area. They’re both seen frequently at civic events. We endorsed Gulick in his last legislative campaign.

For us, what it came down to is recognizing Staed’s legislative track record. We see no reason to deny him more time at the Statehouse, so he receives our endorsement.

Staed’s concerns match many of ours. He believes wave after wave of income tax cuts leave too few resources for other priorities, including public education. The Democrat wants to invest more dollars in public schools, and set future growth rates allowing districts to plan.

The state must do something meaningful on Iowa’s child care shortage and its inadequate mental health care system. He points out that Democrats proposed a series of bills last session intended to increase oversight of nursing homes, raise worker pay and make home care easier to afford.

Gulick is a rare moderate Republican. He and Staed oppose the restrictive six-week abortion ban. Gulick said he doesn’t “believe it is the Legislature’s role to set curriculum standards as they are not educational professionals.” Gulick has taken admirable steps to control runoff from his family’s farm.

Either candidate would make a good state senator. The voters of Senate District 40 are fortunate to have quality choices.

Senate District 46

In Senate District 46, which includes all of Washington and Iowa counties as well as nearly all of rural Johnson County, Republican Sen. Dawn Driscoll is being challenged by Ed Chabal. Our endorsement goes to Chabal.

Chabal, a retired school business official, said his top priority is fully funding public schools with hopes of helping districts avoid staff cuts and the elimination of programs. He also wants to restore the AEA system altered this past session by so-called reform legislation.

“The Iowa Legislature should leave the setting of curriculum standards and classroom content up to the teachers and administrators who have been properly trained in their field of expertise,” Chabal wrote in his survey response.

His other priorities include restoring abortion rights and addressing environmental issues as part of an effort to determine why Iowa’s cancer rate is high and rising.

Driscoll, who raises cattle near Williamsburg, did not fill out our questionnaire.

Still, despite chairing the Agriculture Committee and holding a seat on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Driscoll has not been a leader on efforts to clean up Iowa’s waterways. It’s a missed opportunity.

319-398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com