Iowa House District 68 Candidates Talk in 'Studied, Very Passionate' Debate

Marion resident Gretchen Lawyer is a substitute teacher and she said she' snot happy with the direction of state goverment.

"Fully funding the preschool program has been cut significantly under [Iowa Governor Terry] Branstad,” she said, adding that she’s also seen class size increase in that time. "I’ve been in classrooms where there are 30 plus kindergartners; it’s a tough job when you have twenty."

She came to Thursday evening’s debate for Marion’s Iowa house’s District 68 and was happy to hear nearly half of the discussion focused on education.

The debate — between Republican incumbent Nick Wagner and Democratic challenger Daniel Lundby — was hosted by the League of Women Voters in Linn County.

The majority of questions were drawn from the audience. Attendees were invited to write questions on yellow strips of paper. 

Candidates were given one minute to respond and were asked not to call out their opponent, but to speak on how they would address issues that ranged from mental health, to the gas tax and, of course, education.

Wagner defended his stance on public funding for preschool, along with his colleagues in the state house.

"Preschool is absolutely crucial for the growth of students," he said. "For those that can afford it — they’re OK — but those who can't afford it should."

Lundby said publicly funded school should start at preschool and added that he’d like to use some of Iowa’s budget surplus to pay for education. 

"If we are going to fund eduction it has to start at preschool. They are all interlaced," he said.

Lawyer said she’s supporting Lundby for the election, partially for his stance on education and Iowa Republicans’ actions on the issue.

"I think he did a great job in showing that he is going to represent the district as it’s own independent district," she said. "Not on party line votes."

Though Lawyer disagreed with some of what Wagner said, she said the incumbent came off well.

"I think he actually did a nice job speaking and explaining things from his point of view," she said.

Audience member Mary Day said she loved what she described as a substantive discussion, something far removed from national events like the recent presidential debate.

She’s been coming to each entry in the series of debates. Her Hiawatha address prevents her from voting in this district, but as an observer, she was impressed.

"Both were very studied, very passionate," she said. "I just get this pride when I see people of this age willing to do the work that it takes to make our government work."