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Paul Pate

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Paul Pate
28th and 32nd Secretary of State of Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2015
GovernorTerry Branstad
Preceded byMatt Schultz
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
GovernorTerry Branstad
Preceded byElaine Baxter
Succeeded byChet Culver
Mayor of Cedar Rapids
In office
January 1, 2002 – January 1, 2006
Preceded byLee Clancey
Succeeded byKay Halloran
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byRichard Running
Succeeded byMary Lundby
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 1, 1989 – January 1, 1993
Preceded byHurley Hall
Succeeded byRichard Drake
Personal details
Born
Paul Danny Pate, Jr.

(1958-05-01) May 1, 1958 (age 66)
Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJane
ChildrenJennifer
Amber
Paul
Alma materKirkwood Community College

Paul Danny Pate, Jr. (born May 1, 1958) is an American businessman and politician from the State of Iowa.[1] A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the 32nd Iowa Secretary of State. He previously served as the 28th Secretary of State from 1995 to 1999. He also served in the Iowa Senate from 1989 to 1995, as the Mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002 to 2006 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Iowa in 1998.

Early and personal life

Pate was born in 1958 to parents Paul Sr. and Velma Pate. He received an Associate of Arts degree from Kirkwood Community College.[2] He married his wife Jane in 1978 and they have three children: Jennifer, Amber and Paul III.

Business career

Pate, a third-generation builder, is the President and owner of Pate Asphalt. He was also previously the President of Premier Group Corporation, the President and publisher of Pavco Publishing Company and was the President and owner of internet banking company PM Systems Corporation until it was bought by S1 Corporation in 2010.[3]

Political career

Pate was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 1988, for the 24th district. He was re-elected in 1992, for the 26th district. Both districts were located in Linn County.[4][5] He ran for Iowa Secretary of State in 1994 and was unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Anne Pedersen, the Lee County Auditor, by 473,371 votes (51.73%) to 425,626 (46.51%).

He did not run for re-election in 1998, instead running for the Republican nomination for Governor of Iowa. Incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad chose not to run for a fifth term, so the seat was open. Pate came third out of three candidates in the Republican primary, with 13,299 votes (8.19%), behind telecommunications executive and Branstad's Chief of Staff David A. Oman, who took 35,402 votes (21.80%), and former U.S. Representative and 1996 Senate nominee Jim Ross Lightfoot, who won with 113,499 votes (69.89%).[6] Lightfoot went on to lose the general election to Democratic State Senator Tom Vilsack.

In 2001, Pate ran for Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, winning the officially non-partisan election with 20,210 votes (54.93%) to three-term incumbent Democratic Mayor Lee Clancey's 16,450 votes (44.71%). Pate ran for re-election in 2003 and defeated Paul T. Larson by 26,001 votes (76%) to 7,463 (21.81%).[7][8] He was an advocate of strong-mayor form of city government and chose not to run for re-election in 2005 after a city referendum backed a weak-mayor form of government instead. He then returned to running Pate Asphalt in Marion, Iowa.[9]

On January 18, 2010, Pate filed paperwork to notify the Iowa state election board that he was considering a run for his former position as Iowa Secretary of State against Democratic incumbent Michael Mauro. He was reportedly intrigued at the idea of being able to run for office alongside former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.[10] However, he decided not to run for the office.[11] He did however decide to run four years later after Republican incumbent Matt Schultz instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Iowa's 3rd congressional district.[12] Pate was unopposed in the Republican primary and faced Democrat Brad Anderson in the 2014 general election.[13] Pate defeated Anderson 49%-47%, returning to the Iowa secretary of state's office 20 years after he was first elected to the position.[14]

Upon returning to the Secretary of State's Office, Pate set out to institute a Safe at Home program in Iowa. Safe at Home is an address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking and stalking. The bill passed both chambers of the Iowa Legislature unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Terry Branstad in May.[15] Secretary Pate's office will administer the program.

Paul Pate was selected to participate in the prestigious 2015 Toll Fellowship Program. It is a leadership development program for state government officials, bringing 48 of the nation’s top officials from all three branches of state government together for an intensive six-day intellectual boot camp.[16] Google awarded Secretary Pate in July 2015 for his efforts to increase voter participation in Iowa. The award was presented during the National Association of Secretaries of State's annual conference.[17]

References

  1. ^ Paul Pate
  2. ^ "Secretary of State: Paul Pate, Republican". Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Paul D. Pate". The Iowa Legislature. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  4. ^ https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/districtMaps/Old/1983-1992Senate.pdf
  5. ^ https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/districtMaps/Old/1993-2002Senate.pdf
  6. ^ Paul Pate, OurCampaigns.com
  7. ^ "P.T. Larson makes 13th run at city office". The Gazette. September 17, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. ^ "Pate, Wagner Are in". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Retrieved 2001-11-07.
  9. ^ "Eye On The Island". Wordpress. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  10. ^ "Pate forms committee to run for secretary of state". The Iowa Independent. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  11. ^ Pate Will Not Run For Secretary of State
  12. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (January 9, 2014). "Elections chief Matt Schultz jumps into race for Congress". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  13. ^ "Paul Pate Announces Bid for Secretary of State". KCRG.com. January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  14. ^ http://electionresults.sos.iowa.gov/Views/TabularData.aspx?TabView=StateRaces^Federal%20/%20Statewide%20Races^84&ElectionID=84
  15. ^ http://whotv.com/2015/05/08/iowa-passes-safe-at-home-law/
  16. ^ http://thegazette.com/subject/news/government/pate-selected-for-leadership-program-20150712
  17. ^ http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/07/18/editorial-concerned-bird-flu-sorry-qualified/30370337/
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Iowa
1995–1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Cedar Rapids
2002–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State of Iowa
2015–present 		Incumbent
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