Gary Overla of Dallas Center, a social studies teacher at PHS and Democratic candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, will meet and greet voters at a free-will pork loin dinner at Meek Park in Minburn on Sunday, July 24 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Overla seeks a seat in the newly drawn Iowa House District 47, which includes all of Greene and Guthrie counties and a portion of Dallas County, including Perry, the district’s largest town.
Overla is vying for the seat against first-term Republican Rep. Carter Nordman of Adel, who in 2016 was the state director of Students for Trump while still a high school student at ADM. Nordman, a protege of retired state legislator Ralph Watts of Adel, lost in a 2017 bid for Adel mayor against longtime Mayor Jim Peters.
Indeed, the gerrymandering of District 47 is clear and plain. Lumping these few townships of Dallas County into District 47 was literally a cheap shot. Pertaining to Iowa legislators and issues, the pocket of Democrats that prevails here in Perry has had their votes virtually negated by lumping us in with Greene and Guthrie County. My impression is Jesus himself couldn’t get elected dog catcher if he ran as a Democrat in those two counties. That they also included Dallas Center in our district is also quite telling. I suppose they just can’t be taking any chances a Democrat can possibly be elected. With all of that in mind, the Democrats of our district had better shift into overdrive to defeat the MAGA candidate. The future political aspirations of Carter Nordman must be put to naught. Trumpism is a curse that must be confronted directly at every turn.