Democrats Leila Staton, far left, and Calvin Horn, far right, participate in a legislative candidate forum, Thursday, Oct. 22, in Waterloo. The two are respectively running for Iowa House District 54, which includes Grundy County, and Iowa House District 76, which includes parts of Tama County. Also pictured, beginning second from left: Independent Lucas Hewitt (House District 61), Democrat Vincent Collis (House District 61), moderator Jeri Thornsberry, and Republican Rep. Chad Ingles (House District 68). PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

WATERLOO – On Thursday, Oct. 22, five local candidates in contested races for the Iowa statehouse gathered at Waterloo City Hall for a 90-minute candidate forum jointly hosted by the League of Women Voters of Black Hawk and Bremer Counties (LWV) and the NAACP of Black Hawk County, including Democrats Calvin Horn and Leila Staton.

The five candidates on stage during the forum represented four different Iowa House races, all covering at least a portion of Black Hawk County. Republican Matt Reisetter of Hudson, Horn’s opponent in the open race for Iowa House District 76, did not attend. Staton’s opponent in the Iowa House District 54 race, incumbent Rep. Joshua Meggers (R-Grundy Center), also did not attend.

Ahead of the Thursday evening event, Reisetter shared a statement with the forum’s organizers and this newspaper regarding his absence.

“Since learning about the League of Women Voters of Black Hawk-Bremer Counties candidate forum, I’ve been aware of a couple different potential conflicts with other events related to my campaign. Since I can confidently say the weather is going to be nice tonight and that, therefore, one of those events will be happening instead of being bumped to its rain date next week, rather than attending tonight’s forum, I’ll be in Tama County interacting with other voters and their families,” Reisetter wrote before sharing links to two separate Q&As published in area newspapers.

In addition to Horn and Staton, Democrat Vincent Collis and Independent Lucas Hewitt, both running for House District 61 in Waterloo, and incumbent Republican Rep. Chad Ingles of House District 68 were also in attendance. Ingles’ challenger, Democrat Scott Bodley, did not attend.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Three candidates in uncontested races also participated by providing opening statements, including incumbent Rep. Jerome Amos Jr (D-Waterloo) of Iowa House District 62; Rep. Timi Brown-Powers (D-Waterloo) who is running for Iowa Senate District 31 following William Dotzler’s retirement; and Drew Stensland (D-Cedar Falls) who is running for Iowa House District 75.

Opening statements

Following a brief introduction by the League of Women Voters’ Jeri Thornsberry, all eight candidates were allowed two minutes apiece for opening statements.

Staton was the first candidate to speak.

“At my day job, I’m a victim support specialist and I serve the top quarter/northeast Iowa of the state. And, in the free time that I had before running for office, I spent almost all of it advocating for women’s healthcare as well as survivors of childhood sexual assault,” Staton began,

Democratic nominee Leila Staton answers a question during the Oct. 22 League of Women Voters/NAACP legislative forum held in Waterloo. Staton is running for Iowa House District 54, which encompasses all of Grundy and Hardin counties and several rural townships on the far western edge of Black Hawk County. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“I’ve knocked over 6,500 doors now, listening to voters who are wanting accessible healthcare, clean water, well-funded public education, (and) as a representative who puts people over profit, who values communities over corporations, and seeks truth over power. And I’m working to be exactly that.”

“Over the last few years, we’ve lost education, talent, and most importantly, future Iowans to other states who are outperforming us in almost every category – whether that’s education, employment, wages, the environment, and hospitals that are actually staying open.”

“I’ve seen my friends leave when they didn’t want to, and I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about it. But I’m too stubborn to leave. I want Iowa to be better.”

Following Hewitt, Collis and Ingles’ opening statements, Horn provided the final statement among those in contested races.

“The reason I’m running for Iowa House District 76 is that over the past 10 years, I’ve watched our Iowa Legislature pass laws that favored those with high incomes over those with lower incomes. I’ve watched them favor the wealthy over the poor, the big corporations over small businesses and farmers, money over people,” Horn began.

Calvin Horn, the Democratic nominee for Iowa House District 76, provides his opening statement during the League of Women Voters/NAACP of Black Hawk County's legislative forum, Thursday, Oct. 22, in Waterloo. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“They’ve chipped away at our public education, failed to protect our water quality, and failed to protect us from cancer. They’ve acted against their environment and … public recreation. They’ve done nothing for mental healthcare, and I would ask farmers, ‘What have they done for you?'”

“Iowa’s strength has always depended on the people who live here. I’ve lived my entire life in Black Hawk County. I’ve been to the West Coast. I’ve been to the East Coast. I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve been to Canada. But Iowa is my home. The lush green greenness of the state, the rivers, the lakes, the streams – they’re my home. We need economic development, but we can’t afford to give away our home to achieve it. I understand everything has a cost, and we need to (minimize) costs and maximize profits, and stop out-of-state entities from stealing our bounty.”

Q&A

Eight separate questions were then posed to the candidates with Thornsberry rotating the order of responses. The first two questions came from the forum’s organizers, while the final five questions were submitted from among the roughly 12 people seated in the audience. Each candidate was allowed up to two minutes for their response.

The first question asked candidates to name their “two highest priorities for Iowa.”

Horn was the first to respond, he said his No. 1 priority was the state’s children. He wants to “fully fund public schools” and “fairly compensate” teachers. He also said that while he would have voted against the Students First Act when it was first signed into law in 2023 by Gov. Reynolds, creating the state’s private school voucher program, as a candidate in 2026, he is advocating for a “graduated income cap” on the program “so that we don’t yank the rug out from under those children.”

His second priority involved AI/data centers and its effects on future generations of Iowans. He advocated for state level regulations.

For her part, Staton – the youngest candidate on stage at 22 – also listed public education as a top priority.

“At home, in House District 54, we don’t have access to private education, so our public schools are being defunded for no reason,” she said. She advocated restoring “the power of teachers,” including their collective bargaining rights.

Her second priority is the state’s rising cancer rates and water quality issues.

“I promise to hold corporations accountable for the damage that they’ve been doing to our land, our air, our water,” she said.

Candidates were then asked, “Why are you the best person for this role?”

Horn cited his “life experiences” – from his “Beaver Cleaver” upbringing to his work with folks much further down on the socioeconomic ladder of life. He also cited his ability to “understand complex issues” and his background as a small business owner.

“I learned landlords need tenants, and tenants need landlords, and that the path to profitability is not a straight line,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone is specifically best for a role,” Staton replied before later stating, “But some reasons I think I’m equipped for the role; one, I show up. That’s important.”

She also cited her refusal to take lobbyist and/or corporate PAC monies, as well as her roots in the community.

Candidates were then asked if they would “commit to attend local forums, respond to constituent emails and calls, and be visible in the community.” The question also included the caveat: “My current (representative) has not responded to calls, emails for four years. Let’s return to (a) representative of the people.”

“I don’t think it will be a problem. I’ll do my best,” Horn said.

Staton tied being present in the community and responsive to constituents with campaign finance reform.

“If you’re not showing up in public, how are you getting reelected?” she asked before quickly answering her own question with, “Money.”

“Building and reforming our campaign finance laws, and requiring public town halls, coincide. And I will propose legislation to do that.”

The fourth question dealt with Iowa’s high cancer rates. In a previous edition of this newspaper, Horn and Staton, along with their opponents, provided answers on this topic.

The fifth question focused on state supplemental aid for public schools and if candidates would vote for at least 2%, if not more, in order ” to catch up from years of underfunding public schools.”

Horn said he would be in favor of at least 4%.

Staton also agreed to at least 2%, but said she’s “heard from teachers all across my district that they need at least a 5% increase.”

The sixth question involved Amendment 1 which is part of Iowa’s Nov. 3 General Election. According to recent reporting by Iowa Public Radio, the constitutional amendment “asks voters if they want to raise the threshold lawmakers have to meet in order to raise individual income or corporate taxes, or create a new income tax. If passed, the Iowa Constitution would be amended to require approval from a two-thirds supermajority of lawmakers in both the Iowa House and Senate to pass income or corporate tax increases.” Currently, only a simple majority of each chamber is required.

Both Staton and Horn said they would be voting no.

The penultimate question involved property taxes – a topic which this newspaper’s candidate Q&As also covered. As part of his response, Rep. Ingles – who acknowledged he voted for the recent property tax overhaul legislation – said the 2% annual limit on local government revenue growth “was a little aggressive.”

“I don’t like paying property taxes but I sure like to have my road plowed and the police to come and everything else that we pretty much take for granted a lot of the time,” Ingles said, in part. “So it’s going to be a learning process as we go forward. Communities, local governments are going to have to adjust, and at the same time, those constituents that want to lower property tax bills, they’re going to find out they’re not going to be that much lower.”

The final question involved bipartisanship.

Closing statements

The forum ended much like it began with the candidates each allowed two minutes for closing statements.

While Horn used his time to read off his “core beliefs,” Staton touched on her motivations for running which include giving voters a choice on the ballot – particularly in a rural, mostly red district like House District 54 where the Democratic brand has taken a beating over the last 10 years.

“I think people deserve for their choices to matter, for their opinions to matter when it comes to those choices, and I think they deserve choices. Period,” she said. “Since our district has existed, we haven’t had choices for this position on our ballot, and this year we do. And so I’m excited about that. I think that’s really important.”