Democratic Senate candidates discussed government assistance programs, abortion, gun safety and more during a forum Tuesday night at the Ames Public Library. None of the three Republican candidates attended the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County. 

“The League is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to encouraging citizens to be informed participants in their government on the local, state and national level,” Barb Pedersen, the forum moderator and director of voter services for the League, said.

The forum was intended for all of the candidates in the following races:

• Incumbent Sen. Jesse Green (R) and Margaret Liston (D) for District 24
• Kara Warme (R) and Mike Wolfe (D) for District 26
• Incumbent Sen. Dennis Guth (R) and Cindy Oppedal-Paschen (D) for District 28

Green, Warme and Guth did not attend the forum.

Government programs

One topic that was brought up several times during the forum was the role that government programs play in the daily lives of Iowans. Candidates were asked questions regarding Gov. Kim Reynolds’ private school tuition voucher program and the restructuring of Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEA) funds. 

Oppedal-Paschen was the first to speak in opposition of private school tuition vouchers in Iowa, also known as educational choice vouchers. This is the second year that these vouchers have been in effect.

“Gotta get rid of the vouchers,” Oppedal-Paschen said. “Arizona is having huge budgetary problems because of their private school vouchers. Having it managed by an out-of-state company with no oversight here in the state is a recipe for a budget disaster.”

Wolfe also opposed tuition vouchers and encouraged funding for public schools.

“This is a policy that Iowans did not want, did not ask for and will damage the finances of our state,” Wolfe said. “We should abandon this debacle, get rid of the voucher programs and go back to funding public education with public dollars.”

Liston spoke in opposition to the vouchers, highlighting the low number of private schools that currently exist in Iowa.

“Our governor touts that this is school choice,” Liston said. “But it’s not really school choice because we have 42 counties that have no private schools and 24 counties that have one private school. So, how is that choice? It’s not.” 

Oppedal-Paschen spoke on the possibility of more child care centers for children with special needs following the recent restructuring of AEA funds. 

“The AEA is the system within Iowa who has been given the responsibility for identifying children with special needs,” according to the Iowa AEA website. 

“I’m sure that’s a huge need in Iowa,” Oppedal-Paschen said.

Wolfe also spoke on possible solutions to address the needs of special needs children in Iowa. 

“Put the AEAs back together and serve them the way it was intended, the way it worked for 50 years,” Wolfe said. “If the governor wanted to make changes in the program that she is responsible for administering as part of the education department… she could have done so over the previous eight years.”

Liston highlighted the impact that the restructuring has had on students and teachers in Iowa schools. 

“AEA also helped with curriculum to teach the special [needs] children and it also helped the teachers with education,” Liston said. “[The restructuring is] hurting not just the special needs kids, but it’s also hurting the teachers.”

Abortion

Wolfe was the first to speak on the issue of abortion, calling for Reynolds’ Heartbeat bill to be repealed. 

“Iowans didn’t want it,” Wolfe said. “Iowans didn’t ask for it. The legislature and the governor passed it anyway, and then the governor’s handpicked justices upheld the ban.”

Liston said she would like to see abortion rights become a “constitutional amendment.” 

“Politicians are never more qualified than the patient and the doctor to make both their healthcare decisions,” Liston said. “They don’t need a chair in the office. Being an operating room nurse, I have been part of different cases that I still think about today.”

Liston went on to talk about ectopic pregnancies and the danger they pose to mothers. 

“It’s an emergency,” Liston said. “You cannot just let them lay there or send them back out the door. It’s wrong.”

Oppedal-Paschen spoke in favor of a constitutional amendment “guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization, contraception and safe and legal birth control or abortion.” 

“It’s not going to happen this year, but I think that’s the way to guarantee this,” Oppedal-Paschen said.

Gun safety

Wolfe was the first to address gun safety.

“As a gun owner, I do think Iowa is a pretty welcoming place to own a gun right now,” Wolfe said. “There aren’t a lot of rules and restrictions right now in front of you if you want to go buy [a gun].” 

Wolfe also spoke on the issue of school shootings in America, saying the state and the country need to “take time and energy to address means and causes for how we’re ending up with school shootings.”

Liston advocated for increased mental health resources and common sense laws.

“I don’t think anybody is really saying, ‘I want to take away your guns,’” Liston said. “We just don’t need assault rifles. The access to them is so easy.”

Oppedal-Paschen told attendees she would be in favor of “safe storage laws and red flag laws to point out folks that had a history of domestic violence [and] not allowing those folks to have access to weapons.”

Iowans leaving Iowa

Wolfe was the first to speak on solutions for the legislature to “help stem the tide of people leaving Iowa.”

“We need to stop being mean to our own citizens for political points,” Wolfe said. “Here we are in a state that says you can’t be an immigrant and feel welcome. You can’t be in the LGBT community and feel welcome. You can’t get an abortion if you think that’s the right thing for you and your family, regardless of what your doctor says.”

Liston talked about the control that the government in Iowa has over its residents.

“We need to stop forcing laws onto Iowans,” Liston said. “All these laws are driving the young people out.” 

Oppedal-Paschen spoke on the need for Iowa lawmakers to “dial back these culture wars.”

“It’s not a welcoming state like we’ve been in the past,” Oppedal-Paschen said. “Just dial back some of these culture wars and get back to our roots as a state that values education and diversity.”