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Bill Northey
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Patty Judge
Personal details
Born	(1959-05-27) May 27, 1959 (age 53)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Cindy
Children	Three children
Residence	Spirit Lake, Iowa
Alma mater	Iowa State University Southwest Minnesota State University
Religion	Evangelical Free
Website	[4]

William Howard "Bill" Northey (born May 27, 1959)^[1][2] is an Iowan politician, a member of the Republican Party, and the current Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. He was elected on November 7, 2006 and was sworn in on January 2, 2007. As Secretary of Agriculture he leads the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Education and family[link]

He graduated from Iowa State University with an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Business in 1981 and was a member of the FarmHouse Fraternity, serving as its president during his senior year. Northey received a Master in Business Administration degree from Southwest Minnesota State University in 2004.

Bill and his wife Cindy have three daughters. Jessica received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Iowa State University in Accounting. Emily graduated with an undergraduate degree in Hotel, Restaurant & Institution Management, also from Iowa State University. Katie is attending Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.^[when?] The family was active in Faith Evangelical Free Church in Spirit Lake.^[when?] Bill has served as deacon, Sunday school teacher and chairman of various committees at the church.^[3]

Career in agriculture[link]

Throughout his career in agriculture, Northey has been a leader in a variety of farm groups. From 1995-96, he served as president of the National Corn Growers Association and was chairman of the group in 1996-97. He also has led a number of committees for the Corn Growers.

Like his grandfather, E. Howard Hill, who served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau from 1947–1963, Northey has been active in the Iowa Farm Bureau. He was named a “Friend of Agriculture” by the Iowa Farm Bureau Political Action Committee in 2006 and has served in a number of Farm Bureau offices at the county and state level, including serving as president, vice president and committee chairman of the Dickinson County Farm Bureau.

Northey has also served on the Iowa USDA Farm Service Agency State Committee, was a Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner and was a board member of Ag Ventures Alliance.

As a result of his involvement in these organizations, he has traveled around the world to view agriculture.^{[clarification needed]} He has traveled to Taiwan, Japan (five times), Indonesia and Singapore (to the WTO Secretariat) representing Iowa farmers. He has also traveled to another 12 countries studying agriculture production and policy.

Northey was also co-founder and president of Innovative Growers, LLC, which is an organization hatched from ISU Extension Leadership. Innovative Growers is a farmer-owned and farmer-managed group designed to capitalize on demand for the production of specialty grain products. On his farm, Northey employs the farming practices of reduced tillage, GPS, grid soil sampling and identity preserved production. He raises crops of corn, soybeans, and alfalfa and has raised hogs in the past.

2006 election[link]

Northey ran for Secretary of Agriculture on a platform of expanding opportunities in renewable energy, promoting conservation and stewardship, and telling the story of Iowa agriculture. He ran against Democrat Denise O'Brien. He won the election 51% to 49%.^[4]

Northey has committed to traveling to each of Iowa's 99 counties to hear from farmers and rural residents who have a stake in the future of Iowa agriculture.

References[link]

External links[link]

• VoteSmart bio

v t e Current elected statewide political officials of Iowa U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley Tom Harkin State government Terry Branstad, Governor Kim Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor Matt Shultz, Secretary of State Tom Miller, Attorney General Bill Northey, Secretary of Agriculture David Vaudt, Auditor of State Michael Fitzgerald, Treasurer of State Senate Jack Kibbie, President Michael Gronstal, Majority Leader Paul McKinley, Minority Leader House Kraig Paulsen, Speaker Linda Upmeyer, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Supreme Court (appointed - retention election) Marsha K. Ternus, Chief Justice Mark S. Cady Michael J. Streit David Wiggins Daryl L. Hecht Brent R. Appel David L. Baker AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Tom Latham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Greg Ganske
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 5th district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Fred Grandy
Succeeded by	Steve King
Personal details
Born	Thomas Paul Latham (1948-07-14) July 14, 1948 (age 63) Hampton, Iowa
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kathy Latham
Residence	Alexander, Iowa (1995-2007) Ames, Iowa (2007-present)
Alma mater	Iowa State University
Occupation	small business owner
Religion	Lutheran

Thomas Paul "Tom" Latham^[1] (born July 14, 1948)^[2] is the U.S. Representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district, serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life, education and career[link]

Latham was born in Hampton, Iowa, south of Mason City, the son of Evelyn R. (née Johansen) and Willard Chester Latham. His father was of English and Danish descent and his mother was of Danish ancestry.^[3] He was raised on a farm in Alexander, near Hampton.^[2][4] He was educated at Iowa State University, and was a business owner before entering the House. He and his brothers run a family seed company called Latham Seeds.^[4]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Chairman)

Leadership roles and Caucus memberships[link]

• Congressional COPD Caucus
• Dean of Iowa's delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives
• Task Force for a Drug-Free America
• Prescription Drug Action Leadership Team
• Congressional Task Force for Affordable Natural Gas

Latham has made fiscal and military issues the key points of his tenure in Washington. He is considered to be one of the most fiscally conservative members of the House and his voting record has been strongly anti-tax and heavily in favor of cutting spending to social programs.

Latham is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.^[5]

Political campaigns[link]

Latham was elected as the congressman for Iowa's 5th congressional district in 1994^[2] as part of the wave that allowed Republicans to take over the House for the first time since 1955. The 5th, based in western Iowa, was far and away the most Republican district in the state, and Latham never faced a serious challenge as the 5th District's congressman. In 1994 he defeated Democrat Sheila McGuire garnering 61 percent of the vote. In 1996 he won 65 percent of the vote in defeating Democrat MacDonald Smith, and he ran unopposed in the 1998 election.^[2]

The 2000 round of redistricting, however, significantly altered Iowa's congressional map. Latham's home in Alexander, along with most of the eastern third of his old district, was placed in the new 4th District in the north-central part of the state. This district is considered much more competitive than Latham's old district; with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+0.4, on paper it is one of the most marginal districts in the nation. However, he has been reelected four times from this district without much difficulty. This may be because he is the only Iowan on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.^[2] It is considered very difficult to unseat an Appropriations Committee member.

In the 2006 election, neither the Republican nor Democratic parties had a contested primary. His opponent in the 2006 general election was Selden Spencer, a neurologist from Huxley. Latham, who had moved to Ames, closer to the center of the district, earned 57.3% of the vote as he won reelection.

In the 2008 election Latham won against Democratic nominee Becky Greenwald with 61 percent of the vote even as Barack Obama carried the district by eight points.

In 2010, Latham won against Democratic nominee Bill Maske, a school administrator.

Iowa is due to lose a district as a result of the 2010 census. The new congressional map placed Latham and fellow Republican Steve King into the same district. While it retained Latham's district number, it contains more of King's old territory. Indeed, it closely resembled the territory Latham represented for his first four terms.^[6] Latham opted to move to the reconfigured 3rd and challenge Democratic incumbent Leonard Boswell in the 2012 election.^[7]

References[link]

1. ^ The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/22423/. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Thomas Paul Latham (R)". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/22423/. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
3. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/latham.htm
4. ^ ^{a b} "Biography". http://www.tomlatham.house.gov/Biography/. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
5. ^ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411
6. ^ Cilizza, Chris. Iowa redistricting proposal matches two pairs of incumbents against each other. The Washington Post, 2011-03-18.
7. ^ Petroski, William. U.S. Rep. Latham will move to Iowa’s 3rd District, challenge Boswell in 2012. The Des Moines Register, 2011-04-15.

External links[link]

• U.S. Congressman Tom Latham official U.S. House site
• Tom Latham for US Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa 1st W. Thompson • Miller • Henn • A. Hall • S. Curtis • J. F. Wilson • McCrary • Stone • McCoid • B. Hall • Gear • Seerley • Gear • S. Clark • Hedge • Kennedy • Kopp • Eicher • Martin • Schwengel • Schmidhauser • Schwengel • Mezvinsky • Leach • Nussle • Braley 2nd Leffler • L. Clark • J. P. Cook • Thorington • Davis • Vandever • Price • Smyth • W. Wolf • Cotton • Tufts • Price • Farwell • Murphy • Hayes • G. Curtis • Lane • Rumple • Wade • Dawson • Pepper • Vollmer • Hull • Letts • B. Jacobsen • W. Jacobsen • Talle • L. Wolf • Bromwell • Culver • Blouin • Tauke • Nussle • Leach • Loebsack 3rd Allison • Donnan • Ainsworth • Burdick • Updegraff • Henderson • Birdsall • Pickett • Connolly • Sweet • Robinson • Willford • Gwynne • Gross • Grassley • Evans • Nagle • Lightfoot • Boswell 4th Grinnell • Loughridge • Walden • Pratt • Deering • Luman Hamlin Weller • Fuller • Sweney • Butler • Updegraff • Haugen • Biermann • Talle • Le Compte • Carter • Kyl • Bandstra • Kyl • N. Smith • Ganske • Latham 5th Kasson • G. Dodge • Palmer • J. Wilson • R. Clark • W. G. Thompson • J. Wilson • Frederick • Kerr • J. Hamilton • Cousins • Good • Cole • Thruston • Le Compte • Cunningham • N. Smith • Scherle • Harkin • Lightfoot • Grandy • Latham • King 6th A. Hubbard • Pomeroy • Orr • Loughridge • Sampson • Weaver • Cutts • J. C. Cook • Cutts • J. C. Cook • Weaver • Lacey • White • Lacey • D. Hamilton • Kendall • Kirkpatrick • Ramseyer • Dowell • Utterback • Dowell • Goodwin • Cunningham • Gilchrist • James Dolliver • Coad • Hoeven • Greigg • Mayne • Bedell • Grandy 7th Kasson • Cummings • E. Gillette • Kasson • H. Smith • Conger • Hays • Hull • Prouty • Dowell • Wearin • Jensen • Hansen • Scherle 8th McDill • Sapp • Hepburn • Anderson • Flick • Hepburn • Jamieson • Towner • Evans • Thurston • Gilchrist • Hoeven 9th Orr • Oliver • Carpenter • Pusey • Lyman • Reed • Bowman • Hager • McPherson • W. Smith • Green • Vincent • Swanson • G. Gillette • Harrington • Narey 10th Holmes • Jonathan Dolliver • Conner • Woods • Dickinson • Gilchrist 11th Struble • Perkins • Thomas • E. Hubbard • Scott • Steele • Scott • Boies • Campbell AL Hastings and Leffler Terr Chapman • A. Dodge