The only third-party candidate running to represent Ames in the Iowa House of Representatives advocated a policy Wednesday night that would deny any funding to educational institutions.

Eric Cooper, associate professor of psychology and Libertarian running for the Iowa House of Representatives District 46 seat, said during a candidate forum hosted by a political science class in Curtiss Hall that education should be left to market forces and government should not play a role in funding educational institutions.

“The government is a monopoly,” Cooper said, “and, as a monopoly, it has very little incentive to please its customers and little incentive to be cost-effective.”

Cooper, who is in the middle of his fourth campaign for a spot in the Iowa House, said, as a Libertarian candidate, he can’t compete with the two major parties. Rather, he said, he aims to attract enough share of votes during the election to influence others to pay more attention to Libertarian views.

According to the official Libertarian Web site, the party believes that “you have the right to live your life as you wish, without the government interfering – as long as you don’t violate the rights of others.”

Rep. Lisa Heddens, a two-term incumbent in District 46, which includes much of Ames, emphasized the importance of working in a bipartisan fashion in a congress where Republicans hold a two-seat advantage in the House, and the Senate is equally divided.

“We worked together the best this year than we have in all my years at the Capitol,” Heddens said.

Republican challenger John Griswold said his status as a full-time ISU student gives him a unique insight into the importance of higher education funding.

Griswold, senior in political science, said he plans to graduate after the completion of this semester.

He also emphasized bipartisanship as a cornerstone of his campaign.

“It’s hard to stay in there with someone on the opposite side of the issue and compromise,” he said, “but that’s what I want to bring to this community.”

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said he will focus on limiting student debt and ensuring students at Iowa’s state schools affordable tuition.

“I want to help students reduce their rate of borrowing,” Quirmbach said.

The Republican challenger for the Iowa Senate District 23 seat, Linda Livingston, was unable to attend the forum.

A campaigns and elections course taught by James Hutter, associate professor of political science, hosted the discussion.