Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack
File:Tvilsack.jpg
40th Governor of Iowa
In office January 1999 – present
Lieutenant	Sally Pederson
Preceded by	Terry E. Branstad
Personal details
Born	December 13, 1950 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Christie Vilsack
Profession	Lawyer

Thomas James Vilsack (born December 13, 1950) is 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998, and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is thought to be a likely candidate for President of the United States in the 2008 election.

Early life and family

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tom Vilsack was orphaned at birth and placed in a Catholic orphanage. He was adopted in 1951 by Bud and Dolly Vilsack, who raised him in the Roman Catholic faith. His adoptive father was a real-estate agent and insurance salesman, and his adoptive mother was a homemaker.

He went to high school at Shady Side Academy, a preparatory school in Pittsburgh. He received a Bachelor's degree in 1972 from Hamilton College. He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1975 from Albany Law School. He and his wife Christine Bell moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, her hometown, where he joined his father-in-law in law practice.

Tom and Christie Vilsack have two sons, Jess and Doug. Jess graduated from the University of Iowa Law School in May 2003. Doug graduated from Colorado College.

Early political career

Tom Vilsack was elected mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa in 1987. He was elected to the Iowa State Senate in 1992. As a State Senator, he worked to require companies who received state tax incentives to provide better pay and benefits. He helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs, and helped re-design Iowa's Workforce Development Department. He wrote a bill to have Iowa pay for 50% of county mental health costs.

Governorship

In 1998 former Governor of Iowa Terry E. Branstad decided not to seek re-election. The Republican Party nominated Jim Ross Lightfoot, a former US House Representative. Lightfoot became the odds-on favorite to succeed Branstad. Tom Vilsack defeated former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick in the Democratic primary. Vilsack chose as his running mate Sally Pederson. Vilsack then won the general election - making it the first time in 30 years that a Democrat was elected Governor of Iowa.

In 2001, he was criticized in a humorous light for believing a story he was told involving Canada's switch from the French 20 hour clock (which doesn't exist) to the United State's 24 hour clock, and congratulating Canada on their new system on camera. The footage was used in a special on Canadian TV titled "Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans" [1]

In 2002 he won his second term in office by defeating Republican challenger Doug Gross.

Vilsack speaks at the dedication ceremony of the Iowa Events Center's Wells Fargo Arena, July 12, 2005.

The first year of his second term saw creation of the Iowa Values Fund, $503 million dollars to boost the Iowa economy by creating higher-income jobs. Vilsack used a line-item veto, later ruled unconstitutional by Iowa's Supreme Court, to pass the fund, vetoing portions of the bill that would have cut income taxes and eased business regulations. After a special legislative session on September 7, 2004, $100 million in state money was set aside to honor those commitments. The Iowa Values Fund was reinstated at the end of the 2005 session: $50 million a year will be set aside over the next ten years.

Candidates seeking to replace Vilsack, most notably Ed Fallon, have criticized this program. [2] Their complaints include the fact that companies lured into Iowa by the fund, unlike Iowa-based corporations, can be lured away by greater cash incentives elsewhere. Another criticism is that it does nothing to promote new business. [3]

For most of Tom Vilsack's tenure as Governor, Republicans have held majorities in the Legislature. After the November 2, 2004, elections, the 50-member Senate was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the House.

During the 2005 legislative session, Tom Vilsack signed into law a bill that requires products that contain pseudoephedrine to be sold behind pharmacy counters. Those wishing to buy such products must show identification and sign a log book. The new law, designed to reduce methamphetamine use in Iowa, took effect on May 21, 2005.

Tom Vilsack is a member of the National Governors' Association Executive Committee. He was chair of the Democratic Governors' Association in 2004. He is past chair of the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, the Governors Ethanol Coalition, and the Midwest Governors Conference, and has also been chair and vice chair of the National Governors Association's committee on Natural Resources, where he worked to develop the NGA's farm and energy policies.

Recent events

Prior to Democratic Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry's (D-Massachusetts) selection of Senator John Edwards, Vilsack was thought to be high on the list of potential running mates for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. And before the election, it was rumored that Vilsack would've been offered a cabinet level position in the event of a Kerry victory.

Vilsack's current term as Governor of Iowa expires in 2007. He is not seeking a third term as Governor.

In 2005, Vilsack established Heartland PAC, a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic Governors. In the first report, Vilsack raised over half a million dollars.

On July 16, 2005, Vilsack was named Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council.

On 12 May 2006, Vilsack flew to Israel for a week-long trip to meet Israeli leaders and to get acquainted with the country. The trip was sponsored and organized by AIPAC.

In June of 2006, Vilsack received a standing ovation from the 5,000 attendees at the Windpower 2006 Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, for speaking out for a progressive energy policy for the USA, and increasing the use of renewable energy, such as wind generation of electricity. Iowa, in recent years, has become one of the nation's leading states in development of wind energy.

In a June 2006 poll of Iowans by the Des Moines Register, Governor Vilsack trailed John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and John Kerry as the candidiate likely caucus participants would choose as the Democrat's 2008 presidential nominee, with 10% of respondents favoring Vilsack.

External links

• The Governor's Official Web Site
• Governor Vilsack's Heartland PAC website
• Biography of Tom Vilsack from the Des Moines Register
• TomVilsack.com - News and updates about Tom Vilsack

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