GOP incumbent Thomas Gerhold faces challenge from Libertarian Ashley Meredith in Iowa House 84 race

A three-term Republican state representative will face a Libertarian newcomer in next month's election for Iowa House District 84.

Thomas Gerhold, a Republican of rural Atkins, is being challenged by Ashley Meredith, of Vinton, in the Nov. 5 general election. The district encompasses nearly all of Benton County and parts of Linn County, including the rural area directly west of Cedar Rapids.

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Gerhold handily has won his past three elections against Democrats. In each one, his margin of victory was at least 20 percentage points. The first two elections were in the former House District 75.

No Democrat sought to challenge Gerhold this election.

Gerhold said his constituents are most concerned about increased property taxes, the state of the economy and landowners' rights.

"Private property rights need to be defended to prevent the overreaching use of eminent domain by private companies," Gerhold said. "The landowners have the constitutional right to say no to CO2 pipeline companies."

Gerhold joined with more than 30 Republican representatives and senators this year to call for changes to eminent domain rules in light of the Iowa Utilities Commission's approval of a permit and eminent domain powers for Summit Carbon Solutions, which wants to build the state's first carbon dioxide pipeline system. He is also part of a group that is suing to overturn that permit approval in state and federal courts.

The Iowa House overwhelmingly approved a bill in 2023 that would have required companies like Summit to obtain voluntary land easements for 90 percent of the project route to be eligible for the authority of eminent domain, which forces unwilling landowners into the agreements in return for compensation. But Iowa Senate leaders did not take it up for a vote.

Summit’s proposed project does not pass through Benton or Linn counties.

Gerhold said he supports limits on how much individual property taxes can rise each year. He said legislators should revive an effort to cap those increases at 3 percent for residential and agricultural properties, and at 8 percent for commercial and industrial

Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a property tax law — House File 718 — that seeks to achieve a reduction in future tax growth primarily by merging most local government and school property taxes into one general levy, then installing mechanisms that reduce that levy if overall taxable valuation grows over a certain level.

Gerhold said he also would vote in favor of a bill to curtail the use of hand-held mobile devices while driving.

Ashley Meredith said many of her priorities align with Gerhold's, but that there should be a wholesale replacement of current elected officials to make way for new ideas and different perspectives.

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"Getting new people in from local all the way up to federal is a good idea," she said. "We have a lot of career politicians."

She disagrees with a Republican-backed law adopted this past legislative session that gives school districts greater discretion over the money that goes to area education agencies, especially for work that doesn't involve special education.

The agencies are essential components of the state's special education system. They identify students who need the extra help and advise teachers about how to provide it.

Some Republicans had soured on the agencies for straying beyond special education into general education training and printing services, and for spending too much money on their internal administration.

The bill was narrowly adopted by the House, and Gerhold was among those who voted for it. Its passage led to widespread departures of the agencies' employees.

Meredith said she learned of the agencies' value while working with them with her own children. Her two sons, ages 15 and 10, are a primary reason she decided to run for elected office.

Meredith has not seen or talked to the children for five years after her parental rights were terminated, she said. It happened as she struggled with substance abuse.

Her troubles are borne out in court records related to numerous arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and driving while barred, among other charges.

She said she has not consumed alcohol since 2020 and is sober. In May of that year, a police officer found her asleep in the back seat of a pickup truck with a bottle of whiskey and a drug pipe, court records show.

"I'm not necessarily proud of all the decisions of my past," Meredith said, "but I'm not ashamed of them either."

Meredith insists that her children were wrongly taken from her, and she said state policies should be changed to allow parents to have contact with their children in similar situations. And her other experiences with addiction and as a registered nurse gave her insights to pass laws that would help others, she said.

Meredith surrendered her nursing license in 2019 because of her criminal convictions after having it for 12 years, according to Iowa Board of Nursing records. She now works as a "metaphysical therapist," according to her website.

"My personal and professional background have given me a bird's-eye view of a lot of perspectives," she said. "I can speak from those different perspectives."

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