At a Wednesday forum at Oaknoll Retirement Residence, Iowa City City Council candidates Ross Nusser and Oliver Weilein fielded questions on housing affordability, economic independence, and crisis preparedness, outlining their competing visions for the city’s future.
Nusser and Weilein, who last saw each other during a heated local advocacy meeting earlier this week, did not exchange words as a group of 45 residents filtered into the event. Both candidates were advised to speak loudly and slowly to accommodate the audience of senior citizens.
Weilein introduced himself first, emphasizing his excitement for the event. He spoke briefly of his eight-year career as a direct support professional at Systems Unlimited caring for adults with intellectual disabilities.
“One of the core reasons why I’ve wanted to be an advocate not only in the community but in city hall is because I’ve always been someone who wants to do a job where I don’t make anybody else rich, but I directly benefit the community,” Weilein said.
Introducing himself, Nusser spoke of his family’s legacy in Iowa City. He said the leadership approach he hopes to bring to city council is inspired by his grandfather, Former University of Iowa President Sandy Boyd, who taught Nusser to leave things in a better state than he found them.
“This principle has driven my work in real estate, in nonprofit leadership, and community service,” Nusser said. “I believe in action that makes our city stronger and more inclusive for everyone.”
Kicking off the question-and-answer session, a resident asked the candidates to share one thing they would like to foster or accomplish if elected. Nusser answered first, citing both a short-term and long-term goal.
Nusser said his short-term goal would be to ensure that Iowa City’s Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District, or SSMID, is renewed this year. Nusser said the SSMID supports Iowa City Downtown District, a nonprofit group that advocates for downtown businesses, enhances public spaces, and drives economic and cultural vitality.
“Basically any festival in the summer in Iowa City, [Iowa City Downtown District] are the ones helping,” Nusser said.
Looking long-term, Nusser said he hopes to foster unity among local leadership.
“Right now, the current environment is so divisive,” Nusser said. “We need to calm that down. We need to foster solutions as well as dialogue that helps calm that down. So, I’d like to see a cultural shift broadly.”
In his answer, Weilein also specified a short-term and long-term goal.
“A core principle that I feel deeply inside is that housing is a human right, and every single person deserves shelter and a home, no matter who they are or their income,” Weilein said. “And there are tangible ways we can do that in Iowa City.”
Having studied affordable housing models from other states and abroad, Weilein acknowledged that implementing them locally would take time but hopes to lay the foundation for long-term projects that address the root causes of Iowa City’s housing shortage.
Looking further ahead, Weilein hopes Iowa City will find ways to generate revenue independent of state and federal funding.
“A really big thing for me is making Iowa City more independent and making Iowa City more financially stable,” Weilein said. “Not being too scared of the state and federal government because we are seeing cuts coming in.”
Regarding affordable housing, the second resident asked how candidates would tackle the issue of Iowa City’s high cost of living pushing local workers to live outside the city.
Weilein highlighted the issue’s severity, noting its impact on UI Health Care workers, which will be a key focus with the UI Board of Regents for more pay and benefits this week.
He said he would like Iowa City to implement policy initiatives like a right of first refusal law, which gives tenants the first opportunity to purchase a property before it is sold to another buyer, and community land trusts, which keep housing affordable by having the city or a nonprofit own the land while residents own the homes.
“I think we really need to dig deep on those methods instead of kicking the can down the road and continuing to treat just the symptoms of the problem,” Weilein said, noting efforts to incentivize property developers to build affordable housing are not sufficient.
Nusser, on the other hand, said the best way to address affordable housing is for the city to partner with existing nonprofits to deploy its $15 million allocated to affordable housing, adding his view that Weilein’s ideas would not be effective in practice.
“From a financing perspective, [community land trusts] do not work because the bank will not give you a loan and subordinate it to the community,” Nusser said. “We have tried this in Iowa City at least three times.”
Shifting from affordable housing, the next resident asked how the city should protect residents and the local economy in a future pandemic, fearing that a single avian influenza mutation could trigger one.
Nusser referenced his earlier point about reducing divisiveness.
“We do not need a divided message during a time of chaos and uncertainty,” Nusser said.
Acknowledging the potential for another pandemic, Weilein said Iowa City leadership should take a proactive approach by improving airflow and filtration in public buildings and increasing education and access to vaccination and masking.
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Weilein said his ideas about independent revenue would also help Iowa City in the event of another pandemic, citing the Bank of North Dakota, the only public bank in the country, as an example.
“When the pandemic hit in North Dakota, they were able to deliver supplies and do pandemic mitigation faster than any other state because they had the funds available,” Weilein said.
In response, a resident raised concerns about the state tamping down on such progressive initiatives, referencing how Iowa City previously attempted to implement a higher minimum wage but was blocked by the state. Weilein responded by emphasizing the widespread support for the Bank of North Dakota across the political spectrum.
“A lot of the things I’ve been talking about, they’re not these crazy radical progressive things,” Weilein said. “They’re things that have bipartisan support.”
Piggybacking off this topic, a resident asked how Iowa City can insulate itself from what the resident described as, “the whims of state and federal government, which are getting more whimsical every day.”
Nusser said the city’s power is limited within Iowa’s state regulations. However, he indicated two feasible options the city could take to generate revenue: a local option sales tax, which is an additional tax on goods and services approved by local voters, and a utility franchise fee.
“Through the utility franchise fee, we have the ability to tap into gas, water, and electric and charge more for that,” Nusser said, noting the additional fee would fund city services and infrastructure.
In response, Weilein said he would prefer to see the wealthy members of Iowa City voluntarily pay a higher percentage on utilities, which Weilein said has been successfully implemented in other cities.
“The last thing I would want to do is put more of the burden on low-income and working people through taxes on their utilities and everyday sales for things that they need,” Weilein said.
The last topic addressed was walkability, several residents voicing concerns over Iowa City’s student population driving motorized scooters on the sidewalk rather than the street.
Weilein voiced support for the city’s efforts to add bike lanes downtown, while Nusser emphasized the need for collaboration between Iowa City and the UI, given the popularity of motorized scooters and bicycles among students.
After the event, Peter Hansen, an Oaknoll resident who helped organize, said he has not yet decided who to vote for.
“If elected, I think they’ll play a different role on city council,” Hansen said.
A 25-year Iowa City resident, Hansen cited affordable housing as his top concern, noting the issue has persisted throughout his time in the city. He also liked the idea of raising revenue locally but cautioned against a sales tax.
“A sales tax is the most regressive because a tube of toothpaste costs the same for Elon Musk as it does for an unhoused person,” Hansen said.
Another Oaknoll resident, Ray Mustoa, also said he has not yet decided who to vote for but praised the Iowa City Council’s climate-friendly initiatives, such as efforts to electrify the city’s bus system.
“They’re doing a lot of things to reduce carbon fossil dependence,” Mustoa said.