Iowa City District C candidates debate housing, state pressure and city priorities at League forum

At a League of Women Voters forum in Iowa City, Ross Nusser and Oliver Weiline, candidates for the District C city council seat, outlined competing approaches to affordable housing, responses to potential state property-tax cuts and protections for marginalized residents.

The forum, moderated by Shaden Patrick of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, came as the city prepares for a Feb. 4 primary and a March 4 special election to fill the vacancy created when Andrew Dunn resigned. Only District C residents vote in the Feb. 4 primary; all Iowa City residents will be eligible in the March 4 special election, the League announced at the forum.

Housing was the central subject of the evening. Oliver Weiline said housing policy should move beyond market-centered solutions and emphasized tenant organizing. “All people deserve housing as a human right,” Weiline said, adding that he helped found the Iowa City Tenants Union and has worked on eviction defense and mutual aid for people experiencing homelessness. He urged the city to study social- and public-housing models used elsewhere.

Ross Nusser, a realtor and developer, said he supports a mix of solutions, including Housing First programs and targeted measures for middle-income and homeownership options. Nusser said the…