Well, primary season is officially over, and the candidates are in! This week’s candidate advanced from the Iowa primary on June 4. Aime Wichtendahl (she/her) is the first transgender elected official in the state of Iowa. She is the chair of the city council in Hiawatha, Iowa and has been on the council since 2015. Aime is also a novelist and journalist, and is a dues paying member of American Federation of Musicians local 137. She is passionate about transgender and LGBTQIA+ rights, green energy, and small businesses.

Where are you based?
Hiawatha, Iowa.

What is your position/what position are you running for?
Iowa House of Representatives, District 80.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
I believe the American Dream starts here. I want people to be able to get ahead and have the freedom to live their best lives. That means being able to earn enough from a single 40hr a week job. To be able to afford a home, start a family or business if that is what they want. I want to keep government out of people’s personal decisions.

What inspired you to run?
We have a government that wants your vote, but not your opinion. Each year the legislature grows more extreme and detached from the people it represents. This manifested itself with the dismantling of the Area Education Agencies. Agencies that were more popular than every elected politician in Des Moines. That super majorities of Iowans did not want changed, yet the governor and her rubber stamp legislature rammed it through anyway.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I want Iowa to be first in the nation in education again. I want us to live the values on our flag ‘our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.’ I want to raise the minimum wage, protect workers, and stop the brain drain in Iowa.

How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I have served the Hiawatha City Council since January 1, 2016. Completing the Tower Terrace Interchange, lowering the property tax levy, building the first multi-family housing in 25 years, expanding the library, and building new parks.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Public education – We have a legislature that has defunded, degraded, and belittled public education for nearly a decade and the results are starting to show.

First thing we need to do is end the voucher scam — restore funding to public education and restore the AEAs, bridge the funding drought that began when Republicans took control of the trifecta. Ensure that teachers and support staff can earn a living wage. Provide new programs for art and music as well as move a way from standardized testing. Provide more grants and forgivable loans for teachers to stay and work in Iowa.

Reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy – There is no freedom if you don’t have control over your own body and the state is growing more extreme in that regards. It rammed through a six week abortion ban, but it is also plotting on how to rush through fetal personhood. There bills are awful in a myriad of ways, but more women will die in pregnancy because of it. Vast areas of Iowa are maternal healthcare deserts and the problem is only getting worse. We need to enshrine Roe V Wade not only in law but in the Iowa Constitution.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
I think Americans are more alike than they want to admit. I don’t believe most people are 100% inline with the parties they vote for and the number of independent voters are growing because people are sick of the two party system. I think super majority of Americans believe the political system is broken and its time to start speaking to that reality. But how do you fix it? First, we need to get dark money out of politics — we need to overturn Citizens United, we need to give people more choice at the ballot box — outlawing partisan gerrymandering and institute ranked choice voting. Lastly we as a state should join the 270 compact and bring the electoral college to an end. January 6 should have shown America that the electoral college is an outdated relic, ripe for abuse and exploitation, and unworthy of the world’s oldest democracy.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
While the number of openly transgender people in office is growing we are still underrepresented in government. The results can be deadly, especially when lawmakers are willing to traffic in lies and slander when promoting anti-LGBTQ legislation. Being at the table and serving in government will make it harder for these awful bills to pass.

What is your motto in life?
You only get one life. Why spend it being angry.

Where can we find out more about you?
Aimeforiowa.org

Featured