Mathis hires ‘Defund the Police’ activists to help run campaign

The Liz Mathis congressional campaign is stocked with supporters of the “defund the police” movement.

As they say, personnel is policy…

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Liz Mathis hires ‘Defund the Police’ activists to help run campaign

Iowa Field Report

Luke Martz

January 18, 2022

The Liz Mathis congressional campaign appears to be stocked with supporters of the “defund the police” movement.

Catie Wiltanger, who describes herself as an organizer for Liz Mathis, has expressed her support for defunding the police multiple times on social media. 

In September 2021 Wiltanger tweeted, “ATTENTION ALL DRAKE STUDENTS:  indira sheumaker (@indira4dsm) is a community organizer running for city council in the drake neighborhood. she wants to defund the police, make food & housing accessible, & create a People’s Council for constituents to communicate directly w her. this is a rare opportunity to elect a city official who shares our values, so LIKE THIS TWEET if you want to: -hang an Indira 4 DSM sign in your dorm or put a sticker on your laptop -give Indira 4 DSM literature to your friends -canvass the Drake neighborhood for Indira.” 

In November 2020, Wiltanger downplayed the impact of “defund the police” on Democrat losses in competitive races around the country, tweeting “i agree that we need better/more clear and concise messaging, but ‘defund the police’ didn’t hurt us nearly as much as we think it did. most republican attack ads did not mention it.”

In 2020, Connor Wooff, a finance staffer for Mathis, called on the University of Iowa to cease relations with the Iowa City Police Department. 

Wooff tweeted “We cannot sit back and watch as our peaceful students are tear gassed in their own community. The actions of @IowaCityPolice were unacceptable and we call on @uiowa leadership to cease relations.” 

The hiring of Wiltanger and Wooff may undercut the “moderate” image Mathis is trying to portray to voters, according to a senior GOP aide.

“It’s going to be hard for Liz Mathis to claim to be a moderate when her staffers are demanding that we defund the police,” the aide said.