Kalona

Over the weekend, the Washington County Democrats hosted an Ice Cream Social at Kalona City Park on Sunday, Aug. 2.

Several Democratic candidates spoke during the event, including congressional candidate Christina Bohannan, state treasurer candidate John Norwood, Iowa House District 92 candidate Brittany Erickson, Washington County Board of Supervisors District 5 candidate Lynette Iles and District 3 candidate JoAnn Whitmore. Kalona City Council member Eileen Beran also attended the event.

Christina Bohannan 

Christina Bohannan opened the event by introducing herself and telling the audience she is again running against Mariannette Miller-Meeks for Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

This marks Bohannan's third campaign for Congress after narrowly losing by 799 votes in 2024. She said she is running to lower costs for families and improve health care.

A former University of Iowa law professor, Bohannan said teaching constitutional law was one of the greatest honors of her career.

"It has been one of my greatest honors to teach Iowa's sons and daughters about our Constitution, our democracy, and the rule of law," she said.

Before running for Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Bohannan served as the Iowa House representative for District 85 from 2021 to 2023.

Bohannan criticized Congress for failing to address issues affecting rural communities, including tariffs, health care costs and Medicaid cuts.

"We need to repeal unnecessary tariffs because they're driving up the cost of groceries, building supplies and farm inputs like fertilizer and seed," she said. "We also need to address corporate price gouging, reverse Medicaid cuts and pursue broader health care reform."

She also called for restoring Affordable Care Act tax credits, expanding Medicare coverage and raising Iowa's minimum wage.

Bohannan closed by stressing the importance of investing in rural communities.

"Rural communities are incredibly important to me because I grew up in a small town... We need to invest in rural public schools and strengthen rural health care."

John Norwood 

State Treasurer candidate John Norwood said his campaign is focused on transparency, fiscal responsibility and protecting taxpayers' money.

Norwood, who previously ran for secretary of agriculture in 2022, said his business experience and time as a Polk County Soil and Water Commissioner have prepared him for the office.

"One of my top priorities is making the office more visible, transparent and engaged with the public. Most people don't even know who the current treasurer is," he said.

Norwood emphasized protecting IPERS, calling it one of Iowa's most important financial assets.

"IPERS is important because it's a $46 to $47 billion fund. I'll stand up to protect IPERS because efforts to privatize it would put those retirement funds at risk."

He also said he would like to see more state funds invested through Iowa banks and credit unions and believes communities should have local control over whether data centers are built, while receiving state assistance when negotiating agreements.

Brittany Erickson

District 92 House candidate Brittany Erickson spoke next. Erickson is challenging incumbent Republican Heather Hora in November.

Erickson, who owns Erickson Cab Company and previously worked as a pharmacy technician at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, focused her remarks on health care, public education, water quality and Iowa's cancer rates.

She criticized Iowa's heartbeat law and said she would like to see it repealed.

"The heartbeat bill is a major reason this is happening, and we need to reverse it so more babies are born in Iowa," she said.

Erickson also called for raising Iowa's minimum wage.

"We really need to get over the $7.25 minimum wage and increase those wages," she said.

She said Iowa's rising cancer rate is a personal issue because several members of her family have died from cancer, adding that she believes the state's water and soil quality play a role.

"We really have a cancer crisis here. We're approaching the highest cancer rate per capita in the nation, and it's horrible," she said.

Erickson also voiced her opposition to school vouchers, saying, "We need to invest in our public schools."

Lynette Iles

Washington County District 5 Board of Supervisors candidate Lynette Iles also addressed the crowd. Iles, a retired physician, won the Democratic nomination in June and will face Republican Brendan DeLong in November.

She said she has attended county supervisor meetings for the past nine months to better understand how county government operates and wants to make county government more transparent and accountable.

While discussing the current board, Iles criticized supervisor pay and benefits.

"I realized our supervisors make about $1,000 a week, receive an expense account that lets them buy a steak whenever they're out on county business, and get full benefits while reportedly working 10 to 15 hours a week," she said.

Iles also called for county meetings to be permanently recorded and archived.

"We need to have all of our Zoom meetings recorded, archived and made permanently accessible," she said.

She pledged to spend at least 25 hours each week serving county residents if elected.

"I promise that I will spend up to 25 hours a week working for the people. If I cannot find 25 hours a week doing the people's work, then that salary needs to change," she said.

Iles added that the county will need to be creative with its budget following recent state restrictions on raising revenue.

JoAnn Whitmore

The final speaker was Washington County District 3 Board of Supervisors candidate JoAnn Whitmore, who is challenging incumbent Marcus Fedler in the November election.

Whitmore, a retired business analyst and computer programmer, said she was encouraged by others to enter the race after initially being unsure about running.

"I think one of the things women really need in politics is support. Enough people encouraged me to run that I felt ready to say yes because I knew they'd be standing behind me," she said.

She said her background has given her a strong understanding of data and budgeting and believes the government benefits from having different perspectives.

"I think good government depends on a variety of perspectives and different ways of looking at a problem," she said.

Whitmore also emphasized transparency, saying county residents should have greater access to the information supervisors use when making decisions.

"Transparency and accessibility are major concerns for me. While agendas are posted before meetings, the documents supervisors use to make their decisions aren't available to the public, and I think residents should have access to that information," she said.