Newton candidates who held private caucus refuse to debate opponents

Four Newton candidates running for city council and mayor, and who announced their campaigns at a private caucus last month, will not be facing off against their opponents in the local League of Women Voters forum because they have instead planned their own event which takes place at the same time.

Traditionally, the League of Women Voters of Jasper County holds candidate forums in October to allow voters a chance to see their pool of candidates face-to-face in one setting and answering questions from the audience. The forums will be held 7 p.m. Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 at DMACC Newton Campus.

However, it was announced on Oct. 18 that mayoral candidate Lonnie Appleby, Ward 3 candidate Barney Bushore, Ward 1 candidate Julia Prendergast and at-large candidate Bob Williams will be attending a barbecue at 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at the American Legion Post 111 in Newton. The event is scheduled for two hours.

Prendergast announced the forum on her campaign page on Facebook. She and the other three candidates will be sitting down at the table with voters to hear their concerns directly. An advertisement for the event says: “Newton needs your voices to be heard. And we prefer to hear directly from your mouth to our ears.”

The newspaper advertisement does not disclose who it was paid for, but there has since been a correction issued on the front page of the Newton News saying it was paid for by all four candidates.

The ad also says these four candidates — if voted in, would take up three out of the six council seats, as well as the mayor seat — say “no” to more bad decisions, to more failed projects, to pre-determined agendas and to demeaning and dismissive responses.

The full page advertisement in Newton News also says these candidates embrace the reality of limited budgets, embrace respect for experienced voices and embrace kindness to opposing opinions. But none of their opponents were invited to the other forum at the American Legion to share their opinions.

Appleby, who was prohibited from speaking at the 2021 forum by the League of Women Voters as a write-in candidate and had castigated Hansen for being out of town and skipping the forum, told Newton News he will not be able to attend the upcoming Oct. 26 forum, saying will be out of town for work.

In phone interviews with Newton News, Appleby and Williams insisted their absence from the League of Women Voters forum is due to scheduling conflicts. Appleby and Williams both contend the event was planned long in advance. Williams said he contacted the American Legion about it three weeks ago.

“We planned this for a couple of weeks now, and they just got to us last week saying it was the 24th,” Williams said. “So we’re going to have Fred Rhodes read our piece there. But we’re going to be at the Legion. By their (the League of Women Voters’) rules, by proxy they can read a two-minute statement.”

Williams said he reached out to the League of Women Voters about when they might set a date for the forum, but by then they had not done so.

“It’s a disappointment, but I would rather be in a forum with the people hearing what they have to say, answering their questions face-to-face and not questions that are selected or already decided before,” said Williams, who is anticipating 150 to 200 people. “…We already had invitations made and sent out.”

Newton News had contacted the League of Women Voters of Jasper County on Oct. 10, asking if the group was still planning on holding a candidate forum. By that time, the League of Women Voters had hoped to hear from all candidates by Oct. 13 before making an official announcement.

By 11 p.m. Oct. 12, several candidates still had not responded to the League of Women Voters either by cell or by email or by Facebook Messenger. None of the candidates expressly told the League of Women Voters about the conflicting event, sources tell Newton News.

There is another reason the four candidates are choosing not to participate, too, which make any argument about conflicting schedules moot.

Like the sentiments shared by Wiliams, Appleby said the format of the event he is attending is better than the League of Women Voters forum.

Specifically, he took issue with the members of the League of Women Voters selecting which questions will be asked, suggesting one member is cherry-picking questions to favor certain candidates over others. This argument mirrors that of the Jasper County Republican Party in 2022.

At that time, Republican candidates for county supervisor, Iowa House and Iowa Senate refused to participate in the forum, citing a 2018 incident where a League member — who was also a campaign manager of one of the candidates — was selecting audience-submitted questions with another member.

The Republicans argued it was a clear conflict of interest, and as such has recommended its candidates for non-local elections to not participate.

Appleby said that since not all of the questions will be asked at the League of Women Voters forum — which is not an absolute certainty, especially in a three-person mayoral race such as his — he opted to go to the other forum instead, adding it aligns more with the platform he is running on.

“Every single citizen in Newton needs to not only feel but be heard,” Appleby said. “And that doesn’t necessarily—Well, that doesn’t happen. It didn’t the last time I attended a League of Women Voters meeting. I was in the audience. That was during my write-in campaign. But not everybody’s questions got answered.”

Typically, the League of Women Voters will have two to three people looking through questions and combine them if they ask the same thing. Questions that do not get asked will then be submitted to candidates after the forum has concluded, allowing them to possibly answer and share them on their socials.

When told about this practice, Appleby said it is also important for a person to show they are able to “shoot from the hip,” whereas the questions submitted to them will allow more time to formulate a polished and pretty answer. Either way, Appleby said it is up to the voters to decide which forum they want to attend.

“I did not know at that point there were two different dates that the League of Women Voters sent me,” Appleby said. “And I told them I could not be there Tuesday because I had a prior engagement, and Thursday didn’t work because … I work out of town on Thursday nights. I’m two-and-a-half hours away.”

Which is true. Appleby, as a court reporter, has to travel to Clarinda, which is more than 157 miles away from Newton.

But when Appleby was a write-in candidate for mayor in 2021, he expressed his frustrations with Hansen not showing up to the League of Women Voters forum. On Facebook back then, Appleby called Hansen’s decision “disappointing” and “unfortunate,” and he lamented not being invited to the forum.

“I was very much looking forward to voicing my views and hearing Mayor Hansen’s views at the Jasper County League of Women Voters forum at the high school on Tuesday, October 26,” Appleby said in the post. “Unfortunately, Mayor Hansen is going to be out of town, so we won’t be able to debate any issues.

“Further, it sounds as though I will not be invited to speak at the forum, which is very disappointing to me.”

Opponents were confused when they found out the four candidates had planned their own event and thereby refused to speak at a well-known community forum.

Evelyn George, one of two at-large council members running for mayor, said in a statement to Newton News she will participate in all public forums to which she is invited to so residents can learn about her, her leadership approach and her vision for continuing to move the city forward.

“We must work together and focus on our shared goals,” George said in her statement. “Electing city leaders who are negative, divisive and fault-finding will not help Newton attract new residents, businesses and employers.”

Joel Mills, who is running for the at-large seat on the city council, said in a statement it is quite unfortunate that some candidates would choose to host and have their own private event again, let alone one that was similar to the private caucus they organized in September.

“This exclusionary method is not what we Newtonians need from someone seeking to serve the public in an elected position,” Mills said. “These candidates should answer the call and request of our long-standing League of Women Voters by attending the League’s event.”

Mills said the League of Women Voters has a reputable history of organized, formal events for which residents of Newton can learn about candidates running for office. From there, residents “could learn who lives in city limits and who does not,” referencing the objections to Prendergast’s and Bushore’s residencies.

All objections were later denied by a committee, who found Prendergast and Bushore made all the legal requirements to show their intent to move to properties they own in their wards. Mills went on to say residents could learn from candidates about how they will represent them and “not just a few select business owners and landlords.”

“It is imperative that Newtonians know the facts ahead of this election,” Mills said. “The League of Women Voters event presents information in a public, open forum setting with formal rules and order. I will answer the call and meet the request of the League of Women Voters event. I hope to see you there.”

Cassandra Pence, who is running for the at-large seat, also praised the League of Women Voters and felt honored to be invited to speak at the public forum, adding that it is a long-time tradition intended to bring all candidates to stand before their constituents side by side as equals and debate their platform.

Pence also said the event held by the four candidates is a great idea, saying that potential council members need to listen to community concerns.

“I applaud the idea,” Pence said in her statement. “That being said, to schedule their event at the same time, as well as to exclude themselves from the LWV forum seems disrespectful to the process, organization, history, tradition and to the citizens of Newton.”

Ron Bookout, who is running for the at-large seat, also commended the group for putting together a forum, but he disliked that it was on the same day as the League of Women Voters forum. Bookout said they could have had a discussion with those involved and made concessions for dates and times for candidates.

“Apparently, they do not want their responses to questions challenged by their opponents,” Bookout said in a statement. “I find this unacceptable and disrespectful to candidates who are fulfilling their commitment to participate in the League of Women Voters forum.”

Voters deserve an opportunity to hear from candidates, Bookout added.

“I agreed to participate in the League of Women Voters forum and look forward to it,” he said. “I was not invited to the event to be held on the same night. It’s unfortunate that we won’t all be at the same forum. I look forward to participating in the (League of Women Voters) forum and encourage voters to attend it.”

Stacy Simbro, who is running for Ward 3, said in his statement, “It is regrettable that not all of the candidates have the desire to participate in a truly public forum. I would encourage everyone to attend the open, public League of Women Voters forum and hear what the candidates have to say.”

Randy Ervin, who is the other at-large council member running for mayor, called the actions of the four candidates “blatant disrespect.”

“They feel they are above the rules created for everybody else,” Ervin said. “They use attorneys from out of town to get their names on the ballot. They don’t follow the rules on signage or campaign finance rules. Is this who the people of Newton want to represent them? The true residents of Newton are being played as fools.”

Ervin said there is a question that is still left unanswered: Why are they afraid to talk with us in a fair and open forum?

“I believe it’s because they will show their true lack of understanding of city government,” Ervin said. “Not one of these candidates have any public experience, just their own personal agendas and divisiveness. This is not what Newton needs. Please educate yourselves before you vote.”