Local candidates voice views on carbon pipelines, Latino initiative during Churdan forum

By Brandon Hurley
Managing Editor
news@beeherald.com

A pair of hot-button issues sparked a passionate debate during a local candidate forum Monday night in Churdan.

Greene County supervisor candidates Dan Benitz and Mike Holden were the headliners at the local public library. The duo are the only two residents locked into a contested race, competing for the district 3 seat.
Benitz beat out James Hedges for the republican nod in the June primary election while Mike Holden ran unopposed for the democratic nomination.
Also in attendance Oct. 3 were district 2 incumbent county supervisor Dawn Rudolph (R), incumbent county treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen (R), as well as incumbent county recorder Deb McDonald (D) in addition to county attorney Thomas Laehn, all of who are running unopposed in November’s mid-term election.

Each candidate had a chance to introduce theirselves and give a short campaign speech.
A question and answer session with the roughly 15 Greene County residents lasted well over an hour, quickly transitioning to several important topics.
Benitz is a native of Kansas but has lived in Greene County since 1971. He taught a construction course for many years, leading the local Skills USA outlet (a program for students focused on careers and technical skills) to several national championships.

“I’m fairly conservative yet open-minded,” Benitz said Monday. “I want to see progress. I want to see development.”

Holden is a life-long Greene County native, the owner and operating Moo Meats. He’s served on the Greene County school board. He’s the democratic opposition to Benitz. Holden ran once before for a supervisor’s seat, going up against Rudolph in 2011, but lost.
As the Q&A session moved along, one topic in particular that caused a stir was the Nueva Vida en Greene County initiative. The diversity project is a movement to help bring Latino families into the county. The group has held several informational meetings over the last year in addition to providing a handful of tours meant to highlight the opportunities and benefits of living in Greene County.

Monday’s discussion arose after Benitz and Holden each touched on Greene County’s decreasing population, which sits just a shade under 9,000 persons. They said they’d both like to see an influx of residents from the younger generation. Holden immediately voiced his support of Nueva Vida en Greene County, mentioning his role on the local steering committee while additionally citing how the Latino population is not only the fastest growing demographic in the country, but also is the quickest growing demographic in Iowa. He mentioned the amount of jobs that are available in Greene County, listing off the several manufacturing plants, including Scranton Manufacturing, Bauer Built, John Deere, Power Lift and AAI, among others. Recently, 18 Latino business owners toured Jefferson and the surrounding areas. Holden said the session was eye-opening.

“I would say the interest in either relocating or starting a business in Jefferson or Greene County was extremely high for all,” Holden said. “I was amazed. The one question that they had, which I thought was an extremely (good point) - What are you going to give me here that I don’t already have in the comfort zone where I am living?”

Benitz also championed the surplus of trade jobs in Greene County, believing it should be a calling card for the county.

“I still maintain if we offer our young people opportunities and various careers, they get some basic skills, whether they take a year or two certain course that they would have job entry skills where they could at least get the job that might entice people,” he said. “They may try something out and they don’t like it. Well, that’s learning, but they might really like it.”

Despite the acknowledgment of open jobs and a need for new employees, Benitz was still skeptical of the Nueva Vida en Greene County program.

“I don’t have any problem with having Hispanics come in, but I don’t want to be sold a bill of goods, either, saying we need 200 new employees so we are going to bring in 400 Hispanics, and we’re going to build 400 houses in five years,” Benitz said. “This is not reality. I want to see legal people. I would love to see families because there would be stability within those families.”

Benitz’s views drew immediate backlash from one particular audience member Monday, saying that is not what the Nueva Vida program is about. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts after asking how much Benitz knew about the
initiative before taking a strong stand.

“I think what you’re talking about, it sounds very prejudiced,” she said.

Benitz instantly fought back, disputing her claims of bigotry.

“I’m not prejudiced, I will guarantee you that,” he said. “I face reality, and one of my fears is that if there is a big (influx) of people, with the border situation and all that, are we going to get people who are qualified to to work?”

Holden chimed in as well, further explaining what the diversity project entails. He said the county can either endorse it and initiate a cultural change by preparing for the future, or put a stop to the movement.

“We are going to lose,” Holden said. “That’s what the diversity project is.”

Benitz spoke up, seeming a bit annoyed with Holden.

“Can I talk just a little bit, Mike?” Benitz said. “I’m not saying, black or white, hot or cold. I’m just saying what-ifs and to be careful to make sure that we do have safety.”

Benitz was also concerned whether Latino HQ, which is the company helping engineer the local push, was going to receive some kick-back if new Latino families do come into Greene County as a payment for their efforts.
Both Holden and the vocal citizen opposing Benitz were quick to shut that idea down. They said Greene County Development Corporation is helping fund and sponsor the project, though the board of supervisors has yet to voice their support.

PIPELINE OBJECTIONS

Concerns over a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline from Summit Carbon Solutions was also a lively topic for all candidates present Monday. The company has partnered with Louis Dreyfus out of Grand Junction to build the largest carbon pipeline project in the world, a recent press release said.

Each candidate, from the supervisors to the treasurer and recorder, had some type of opposition to the impending project.
Holden said he’s attended several supervisors meetings when the proposed line was discussed, which would travel through much of Greene County.

“We have more questions than answers right now,” Holden said. “It appears to me that it’s all private gains on their (Summit) part.”

Eminent domain – which is the execution of power to take hold of private property and turn it over for public use – was a key anchor point for the discussions.

“Evidently, this is private industry. So the argument is that private industry doesn’t have the right to do eminent domain,” Benitz said. “I wouldn’t like that somebody’s plowing through my yard. But the bottom line is, they are willing to reimburse.
You have to define greed, selfishness, jealousy. It’s not fun. I would just like to know more about the carbon monoxide, because it is a poisonous gas. I have to learn more about it.”

Holden piggy-backed off the private cooperation concerns. He said he’s skeptical of Summit Carbon Solutions and the tactics they’ve chosen to enact.

“They aren’t doing it out of the goodness of their heart, so you have to respect the landowner’s right to do what they want,” Holden said. “I think it’s a little different when it’s the state or federal government versus private.”

THE UNCONTESTED CANDIDATES

The local government candidates running unopposed also had a chance to speak a few words Monday.
County attorney Laehn said the crime rates locally have been relatively low during the five years he’s served in the county. He said drug arrests have remained steady for both meth and marijuana, while the harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and fentanyl have all for the most part stayed out the county. Violent crimes also remain low as well, Laehn said.

He believes he’s done well in his time as county attorney.

“Four years ago, I ran on a platform A, B and C, that if I were elected, I would aggressively prosecute crime, I would bring efficiencies to government and champion constitutional rights,” Laehn said. “I believe I’ve fulfilled my promise on all three counts. Crime rates are down in Greene County, because of the relationship between law enforcement and my office. I can’t give enough credit to our law enforcement officers. They do great work.

Laehn continued, “I’ve worked really hard with law enforcement to make sure that as we’re aggressively prosecuting crime, we are not infringing the rights of the criminal defendants in the process,” he said. “I feel very strongly about that. I periodically write memos to our law enforcement officers, updating them on changes in the law, to make sure that we are doing everything by the book. We have not lost a suppression hearing in Greene County for at least two years, probably longer, because our officers are doing things right.”

Rudolph has held a seat on the county board of supervisors since 2011. She said working together is perhaps the most important task as supervisors.

“Being a supervisor, we rely on other people sitting here at the table to help guide us to make good decisions,” she said. “And it takes good people in those departments to help us do our job. It also takes the good input from the public of Greene County. We need your input and your guidance on how you feel or how you want tax dollars spent. I feel that we are pretty open to listening to people.”

Rudolph is also keen on transparency. She says she never makes a decision without first explaining why she chose to go in that direction.

“I’m certainly willing to help make (residents) understand what went into our decision,” Rudolph said. “If I’m going to make a decision on something, I should have good reason of why. If somebody asked why I voted that way, I need to tell them why. I feel there’s kind of a lack of that right now with  some supervisors just not having a good explanation for their vote.
I can respect another person’s vote if I know the reason why. We’ve kind of gotten into some uncharted waters here recently with solar panels and carbon pipelines, things I never dreamed that we would be facing. But everyday is a learning experience.”

Mechaelsen said she’s proud of the work she’s accomplished in the three years since becoming county treasurer in 2019. She achieved her goal of balancing the county’s financial records, and is now in the process of finding reasonable and responsible ways to improve the county through spending.

“Balancing the books, with the help of state auditors, was a huge undertaking,” Mechaelsen said. “My next goal is to make the county more money. We went from making $12,000 a year in interest to $75,00. That’s a huge increase.
We have great relationships with all our banks in town, keeping all the money local.”

McDonald has worked in the Greene County recorder’s office for 17 years, highlighted by the last two years as county recorder.

“Over the years, my customers have become my friends,” McDonald said. “They come in just to tell me to show me pictures of their grand-babies. That really means a lot to me to have that relationship with the community.”

McDonald feels her work to digitize all the county’s records has been a mighty success, a process which included transferring deeds, mortgages, land transfers, births, hunting and fishing licenses and other similar tasks into the computer system. She also said the recorder’s office is helpful for genealogy research as well as licensing for off-road vehicles.

The 2022 mid-term elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8. The polls will close at 8 p.m.