Cecilia Burnett, state representative of House District 61, expressed her support for keeping the name of Carrie Chapman Catt Hall while speaking to a class of 18 Iowa State journalism students Wednesday night.

“I don’t think we should rename Catt Hall,” Burnett said. Catt’s alleged racist and xenophobic comments need to be looked at within the context they were said, she said.

Catt did contribute to the women’s suffrage movement, Burnett said.

Burnett admitted she’s looking at the issue from the perspective of a white woman. “It is an emotional issue, and it will cause hurt to some of my supporters,” she said.

Burnett, her mother and her aunt all have bricks in the Plaza of Heroines in front of Catt Hall.

Burnett, an incumbent Democrat, is campaigning for re-election to the State Legislature. District 61 includes Ames residents who live between Lincoln Way and the city’s north limits. About half of her district is ISU students.

She chose not to speak about her challenger, Dick Woods. “I don’t compare myself to my opponent,” she said. Promoting only herself and not commenting on her challenger leads to a more positive campaign, she said.

Burnett said the two biggest issues the State Legislature will face in the next session are tax reforms and hog lots.

Burnett, a strong advocate of environmental education, believes people in her district are concerned with the environment, specifically with what large-scale hog operations would do to damage it.

“I know I represent people in my district well. They are very concerned about the environment and hog lots,” she said.

Burnett has plans for reforms through hog-lot legislation, which she hopes to work on if re-elected. These include more local control by county governments, better engineering standards related to sewage storage and more funding for inspections.

Burnett said she has no aspirations for a higher office. Her goal is to win the election with a wider margin than last time around.

“I would like to stay around until the Democrats are in majority,” she said.