Newman Abuissa, an immigrant from Syria, announced his candidacy for an at-large seat on the Iowa City City Council on Sept. 19.
Abuissa is running as a Democrat. Born in Syria, Abuissa has lived in the U.S. for 40 years, and in Iowa City for 27 years, where he raised his kids. He has also worked as an engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation for 35 years. Abuissa works as a traffic engineer for the department and has organized protests for Iowans for Palestine.
Abuissa is the chair of the Arab American Caucus of the Iowa Democratic Party. He launched a campaign for a seat in Iowa’s Congressional District in early 2020 – which included Johnson County at that time – before pulling his bid.
Looking forward to introducing himself to the community, Abuissa shared his goals to improve the city, the culture he wants to bring, and vision for the future with Iowa City while listening to what the people have to say.
“I want to connect, and my motto is to ‘listen and empower,’” he said. “I want to present my ideas and also listen to the community’s ideas, making sure I’m able to bring the people who are leaders and passionate about their issues to come together and form a community to help us resolve our challenges in the future.”
Some of Abuissa’s goals are to improve climate care and sustainability, bring attention to underrepresented groups, and bridge the gap between leadership and the community.
Brandon Dix, Abuissa’s campaign manager, said “Listen and Empower” is exactly the kind of motto Iowa City needs.
“Right now, we need leadership,” he said. “We don’t need shrewd politicians. We need someone to listen, to take actions, and to make those hard decisions.”
Abuissa said he is looking forward to being able to share his experience from working with the Iowa Department of Transportation. He said his insights can offer a practical perspective on local economic development.
“I’ve seen that our city can encourage businesses and grow trade jobs to produce increased wages,” he said.
He encourages the Iowa City community to continue to grow and take a step to protect one another, improving the city in general.
“This community can have a lot to offer and can take a leadership position to guide other communities around the area and around the state,” Abuissa said. “It’s very important that Iowa City be a light in many areas, in the environment, in business, in taking care of each other, and in human rights.”
Travis Terrell, a University of Iowa Health Care employee, who is running as a Democrat to represent Iowa’s First Congressional District in 2026, spoke at Abuissa’s campaign kickoff. He said Iowa City needs someone who is willing to listen and compromise with the community.
“Acceptable is not enough in this era when families are being torn apart, when basic human rights are under attack, when now the very foundation of this country, freedom of speech is under attack at times like this,” he said. “We cannot settle for acceptable. We need exceptional candidates like Newman.”
Abuissa said moving from Syria gives him multiple perspectives and ultimately leads him to want to look at what’s best for the community.
“It’s really important for me to be pursuing this position with the Iowa City City Council, because what we sometimes concentrate on is not [what’s most important],” he said.
The election for two at-large seats and one seat in District B will be held on Nov. 4.