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Christine Wolfe
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Christine Wolfe (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Iowa House of Representatives to represent District 90. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022.
Wolfe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Christine Wolfe was born in Des Moines, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, in 1989, a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1998, and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa College of Education in 2007. Her career experience includes working as a professor in the Education Department at Coe College, legislative clerk for Rep. Mary Wolfe, and an ICCSD substitute teacher.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Iowa House of Representatives District 90
Adam Zabner won election in the general election for Iowa House of Representatives District 90 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Adam Zabner (D)  | 98.3 | 11,840 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.7 | 204 | ||
| Total votes: 12,044 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 90
Adam Zabner defeated Andrew Dunn and Christine Wolfe in the Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 90 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Zabner | 42.6 | 1,999 |
 | Andrew Dunn | 36.6 | 1,716 | |
 | Christine Wolfe | 20.7 | 973 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 6 | ||
| Total votes: 4,694 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christine Wolfe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wolfe's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am running for the Iowa House to represent Iowa City. I have lived in Iowa City for over 25 years, raised my kids here, got my degrees here. We have work to do in Des Moines, first and foremost of which is to fund and support education in the State. Our teachers, professors, and staff at our K-12 public schools and our Regents institutions deserve to be treated and funded as professionals. I support sensible gun restrictions, the right to a safe medical abortion in the state of Iowa, and legislation that promotes economic development and protects universal human rights.
- Iowans have always been proud of our educational system. We need to fund eduction and take the target off of teachers' backs.
- Economic development comes in many forms, including legislation that respects diversity of ideas and identities, promotes innovation, and values workers.
- Iowa should legalize and regulate cannabis sales, minimize jail time for non-violent crimes, and look toward criminal justice reform to keep Iowa working.
I am passionate about public schools and teachers. The pandemic years reinforced the commitment teachers have to ensuring all students have the opportunity to learn. Despite the hard work teachers have been doing, the 2022 legislative session opened with direct, unwarranted attacks on teachers in Iowa. Many teachers will pinpoint the gutting of Chapter 20, which essentially removed the power of the collective voice from unions, as the beginning of this recent cycle of disrespect. While the attacks on teachers are not new, the visceral comments made by some legislators about teachers more recently reflects a total disconnect between those who make the laws and those who prepare future voters. We must do better for our students, families, and our future.
I know it's cliché but my greatest role models come from the women in my family. My grandmothers were pioneers--my dad's mom was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse at the age of 16 then went on to farm with my grandfather. My mom's mom came to the U.S. after WWII from Switzerland and created a successful business with my grandfather. My own mother had traveled the world by the time she was 18. She married my dad and together they raised eight amazing kids. All of my sisters have taken on the world. My oldest sister, Mary, just retired after twelve years as a state legislator in Iowa. I would be proud to follow her example as a legislator. Mary is smart, respected, hard-working, and has the courage of her convictions to do what is right by her constituents. She taught me to show up, listen, and do your homework--the keys to being a good representative to the people of Iowa.
I have lived a life of experiences. I grew up in a family with eight kids and learned how to negotiate and be heard. I went to college at a women's liberal arts institution and found the power in my voice and my life. I traveled and worked in Europe, learning about and from different cultures and ideas. I taught at a high school in Indiana, recognizing both my privilege and the obstacles others faced through no design or fault of their own. I went to law school and mastered the art of the argument. I attended grad school in education and studied local control, vouchers, and the history of schooling. I raised my children in my community with my spouse, navigating their daycare and school experiences with them. I prepared young people to be teachers and taught at the college level, sharing my passion for education, history, and social justice issues. I think I would be a successful state legislator because I know others have also had rich lives with experiences that shape their opinions, ideas, and aspirations. I know I can learn from them and take their experiences to Des Moines to help me write and support bills that will make Iowa a better place.
The core responsibilities of someone elected to the Iowa House to represent House District 90 (Iowa City) is to be authentic in who they are, to communicate with and learn from constituents, having the humility to know what they don't know, and the integrity to stand behind their community. Trust comes from honesty and authenticity; constituents must trust their legislator will represent them to the best of their ability. I believe the best way to develop a trusting relationship is to be honest and authentic in your interactions with others. As an elected official, one must do what they say they will do. If I do not have a clear handle on a bill or concept behind legislation, I would hope my honesty when reaching out to constituents and community leaders for counsel would be seen as a strength. If constituents and community leaders have a strong stance on a pending bill, I believe it is the elected official's role to represent their community even in the face of pressure from other forces. I put a lot of stock into integrity and being authentic when seeking direction from one's constituents and when communicating with constituents about controversial legislation.
I remember when Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Democratic primary. I was 13. While my parents had been active Democrats my whole life, I think this sticks out because it was the first time I truly understood the importance of the primary on the road to electing a president. There is a picture of Senator Kennedy speaking at my school and several of us are behind him on stage in our school cheerleading uniforms (long hot sweaters with pleased skirts). I knew my parents had worked on JFK's campaign before they had kids so I knew having Senator Kennedy and members of his family visit was a big deal.
I worked at Dairy Queen in Clinton Iowa when I was 15. At age 16, I got a job at Jewel Grocery in Clinton and joined the union. It was my first union membership (I'd have two more union affiliations in my work career). I worked at Jewel for two years, until I left for college, and then worked there the summer after my first year of college. I still visit Jewel in Clinton when I go home.
Something from HADESTOWN, the musical.
I believe Iowa's greatest challenge over the next decade is to undo some of the extreme legislation that has been enacted and to recommit to the strengths of the state. The repeal of sensible gun restrictions; the oversight and overreach into schools, courtrooms, and local communities; and the enhanced penalties for non-violent crimes are all ways in which the Republican-lead legislature has overstepped into the rights and opportunities of Iowans. We also need to recommit to education and small business owners by funding education the way it should be (which is abundantly, not adequately) and by repealing the flat tax that relieves the richest Iowans of their debt to society. We can and should do more to make Iowa a place young people want to return to and raise their families and to bring new industry and new ideas.
I believe it's beneficial to build relationships with other legislators, just like I believe good classroom teachers build relationships with students. For all of us, things become more important when they become relevant. And things become relevant when they have some connection to who we are or what we do. When I was doing advocacy work for teacher preparation programs in the state, I culled through every biography of every legislator and learned that many of them had partners, children, and parents who were teachers. That gave me an "in" to start a conversation with the legislator and to discuss how the teacher (or the principal or bus driver or school nurse) in their life felt about their training. Talking about something close to home that the legislator could talk about from a personal point of view enlarged our conversation. Building those connections--through our families, our work outside of the House floor, our hobbies, our hometowns--enable us to move away from the divisive nature of politics today and to make connections that aid us in seeing one another as allies and as Iowans.
I am not interested in running for office beyond the state level. I appreciate those Iowans who see a greater role for themselves in D.C. However, I have seen the value of work at the state level in the state legislature through my sister, retiring State Rep. Mary Wolfe. For 12 years, Mary worked hard to represent her district, support growth and development, and offer her expertise on the House floor. I have seen legislation she supported play out in our schools and communities. And I have seen legislation she opposed take its toll on Iowans working hard to make ends meet. Politics at the state level, especially in Iowa, is personal--legislators sit next to their neighbors, their church friends, their kids' school rivals in the House Chamber. I want to make a difference in turning the state blue again and I am prepared to put the time in and make that happen. And I am very patient.
My son and I were delivering yard signs to friends. Jack's friend said his grandmother would gladly take a sign. We went to the young man's grandmother's house, sign in hand, and knocked on the door. In the three-degrees-of-separation that is Iowa City, this wonderful former teacher was married to the building and trade teacher at our local high school. He passed away a couple of years ago but we quickly realized that he and his students had built the house I live in! My family (spouse and daughter, at the time) bought the student-built house in 2001 through an affordable housing program in Iowa City. She had been at the open house when the students unveiled the house--as had we--and she told us her husband used to drive by and check on "his houses" that the students built over the years. Jack and I stayed and chatted with her and saw pictures of her family over the years. We talked education and teaching and Iowa City. The visit wasn't extraordinary or exceptional but I was so grateful to meet someone who embodies all the best of this community.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 10, 2022
Current members of the Iowa House of Representatives
Leadership
Majority Leader:Bobby Kaufmann
Representatives
District 1
J.D. Scholten (D)
District 2
Robert Henderson (R)
District 3
Thomas Jeneary (R)
District 4
Skyler Wheeler (R)
District 5
Zach Dieken (R)
District 6
Megan Jones (R)
District 7
Vacant
District 8
Ann Meyer (R)
District 9
Henry Stone (R)
District 10
John Wills (R)
District 11
Craig Williams (R)
District 12
Steven Holt (R)
District 13
Travis Sitzmann (R)
District 14
Jacob Bossman (R)
District 15
Matt Windschitl (R)
District 16
David Sieck (R)
District 17
Devon Wood (R)
District 18
Tom Moore (R)
District 19
Brent Siegrist (R)
District 20
Josh Turek (D)
District 21
Brooke Boden (R)
District 22
Samantha Fett (R)
District 23
Ray Sorensen (R)
District 24
Sam Wengryn (R)
District 25
Hans Wilz (R)
District 26
Austin Harris (R)
District 27
Kenan Judge (D)
District 28
David Young (R)
District 29
Brian Meyer (D)
District 30
Megan Srinivas (D)
District 31
Mary Madison (D)
District 32
Jennifer Konfrst (D)
District 33
Ruth Gaines (D)
District 34
Rob Johnson (D)
District 35
Sean Bagniewski (D)
District 36
Austin Baeth (D)
District 37
Barb McCulla (R)
District 38
Jon Dunwell (R)
District 39
Rick Olson (D)
District 40
Bill Gustoff (R)
District 41
Ryan Weldon (R)
District 42
Heather Matson (D)
District 43
Eddie Andrews (R)
District 44
Larry McBurney (D)
District 45
Brian Lohse (R)
District 46
Dan Gehlbach (R)
District 47
Carter Nordman (R)
District 48
Chad Behn (R)
District 49
District 50
Ross Wilburn (D)
District 51
Brett Barker (R)
District 52
David Blom (R)
District 53
Dean Fisher (R)
District 54
Joshua Meggers (R)
District 55
Shannon Latham (R)
District 56
Mark Thompson (R)
District 57
Pat Grassley (R)
District 58
Charley Thomson (R)
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
Jerome Amos (D)
District 63
Michael Bergan (R)
District 64
Jason Gearhart (R)
District 65
Shannon Lundgren (R)
District 66
Steven Bradley (R)
District 67
Craig Johnson (R)
District 68
Chad Ingels (R)
District 69
Tom Determann (R)
District 70
Norlin Mommsen (R)
District 71
Lindsay James (D)
District 72
Jennifer Smith (R)
District 73
Elizabeth Wilson (D)
District 74
Eric Gjerde (D)
District 75
Bob Kressig (D)
District 76
Derek Wulf (R)
District 77
Jeff Cooling (D)
District 78
Angel Ramirez (D)
District 79
Tracy Ehlert (D)
District 80
Aime Wichtendahl (D)
District 81
Daniel Gosa (D)
District 82
Bobby Kaufmann (R)
District 83
Cindy Golding (R)
District 84
Thomas Gerhold (R)
District 85
Amy Nielsen (D)
District 86
David Jacoby (D)
District 87
Jeff Shipley (R)
District 88
Helena Hayes (R)
District 89
Elinor Levin (D)
District 90
Adam Zabner (D)
District 91
Judd Lawler (R)
District 92
Heather Hora (R)
District 93
Gary Mohr (R)
District 94
Mike Vondran (R)
District 95
Taylor Collins (R)
District 96
Mark Cisneros (R)
District 97
Ken Croken (D)
District 98
Monica Kurth (D)
District 99
Matthew Rinker (R)
District 100
Blaine Watkins (R)
Republican Party (66)
Democratic Party (33)
Vacancies (1)
