The two candidates for the Iowa House of Representatives District 47 seat — Republican Carter Nordman and Democrat Gary Overla — will engage in a candidate forum Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Greene County Elementary School at 401 E. Russell St. in Jefferson.
No candidate forums have yet been scheduled in Perry, the largest city in the district. Nordman refused an invitation made in August to attend a forum in Perry moderated by ThePerryNews.com.
In early August ThePerryNews.com reached out to both candidates with four easy questions:
1. What has prompted you to run for the Iowa House in the new District 47?
2. What qualifies you to serve in the Iowa General Assembly?
3. What legislative accomplishments/proposals are you most proud of? Do you have a platform or any legislative proposals in mind for the upcoming session? If so, what?
4. Would you care to make any observations about the recent state of state and/or national politics in Iowa? Any particular policies or personalities that deserve comment?
The answers to these questions were intended for use in a story in ThePerryNews.com that would introduce the candidates to our readers because both office seekers are new to Perry-area voters. Overla promptly answered the questions. Nordman, in spite of repeated promises that he would answer, did not answer the questions.
Without answers from both candidates, it was not possible to run an introduction story about one candidate only.
ThePerryNews.com also asked both candidates in early August whether they would be agreeable to meeting in a candidate forum. Overla agreed to meet in a forum, but Nordman refused.
“I do not believe you are capable of hosting a non-bias forum,” Nordman said in an Aug. 11 Facebook message to ThePerryNews.com. “Your reporting has not been what I would call ‘fair.’ You have not once reached out to me for any kind of comment, although you extensively quote my opponent. In stories you do refer to me, you conveniently only mention past titles of mine that you believe have a negative connotation.”
ThePerryNews.com assured Nordman that if and when he holds meet-and-greet events or rallies in Perry, then ThePerryNews.com will report them as fully we do all other candidates’ events. We also explained to Nordman, who has not attended any previous forums moderated by ThePerryNews.com, that the forum questions come from the audience and not from the moderator.
In a final effort to bring the views and opinions of these two candidates before Perry-area voters and readers of ThePerryNews.com, they were both sent the following set of six questions on Oct. 16:
1. Do you believe the 2020 general election was rigged and stolen from President Trump?
2. Do you believe the June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion, was correctly decided? What is you general position on this issue? Are you satisfied with the current state of abortion law in Iowa, or would you advocate for changes to it? If so, what changes would you support in Iowa’s abortion law?
3. What is your opinion of President Biden’s executive order canceling a portion of student loan debt? Do you support the lawsuit Gov. Reynolds has joined with other governors that challenges the president’s action? If so, why? and if not, why not?
4. Inflation is cutting into pocketbooks in the U.S. and around the world. What do you think is the cause of the current inflation? How can inflation best be brought under control?
5. Crime worries many Americans, including what seem to be the now-daily reports of mass shootings. What is your view of crime, its causes and cures? What are the main security risks to Americans, and how can they best be neutralized?
6. Immigration, both legal and illegal, is a perennial issue in U.S. politics. What is your view of the current state of the question and your opinion as to what is to be done? Iowa is at full employment and still has about 70,000 open job positions. Who will occupy these jobs if not immigrants?
Neither candidate has yet to answer the questions or even to acknowledge their receipt. Maybe Thursday night’s event in Jefferson, which will be held in the elementary school cafeteria, will bring forth the same or similar questions. The 7 p.m. meeting is free and open to the public.
