‘Candidates 2011’ Archives
Author: rachellethomas Published: September 30th, 2010
Mark Seidl
House District 37
Cedar Rapids
Contact: 319-377-9770
Mark Seidl grew up in Cedar Rapids from grade school through high school, graduating from Regis in 1977. He went away for college and law school at Creighton University in Omaha, then worked as an attorney and claims adjuster in Wisconsin. In 1990 he came home to marry his wife, Anne, a lifelong Linn County resident. They made their home first in Hiawatha, then Marion, and finally Cedar Rapids, settling in 1997. Mark Seidl grew up in Cedar Rapids from grade school through high school, graduating from Regis in 1977. He went away for college and law school at Creighton University in Omaha, then worked as an attorney and claims adjuster in Wisconsin. In 1990 he came home to marry his wife, Anne, a lifelong Linn County resident. They made their home first in Hiawatha, then Marion, and finally Cedar Rapids, settling in 1997. On the way they had a daughter, Amelia, and son, Daniel. Daniel is 15; Amelia is 18 and will cast her first vote this fall. Both attend Linn-Mar High School. Mark has been active as a soccer coach and Adventure Guides leader, and has done volunteer work for the Lin-Mar Boosters and Orchestra Department. He has served on the boards of the Alzheimer’s Association for East Central Iowa, and Green Square Meals, and as a youth minister at St. Pius X Parish.
Mark has practiced law for the past 13 years with his brother, Phill, and sister, Mary Chicchelly, in the firm of Seidl & Chicchelly (their father, Jerry, is of counsel). Mark is a member of the Iowa Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Iowa Association for Justice, the American Association for Justice, and has been admitted to several Federal district courts and the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals. This is his first campaign for elective office.
Tags: Cedar Rapids, HD 37, Iowa House District 37, Mark Seidl
Category Candidates 2011, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: September 29th, 2010
Mary Wolfe
House District 26
Clinton
Contact: 563-243-4652
Mary Wolfe was born in 1963 in Washington DC. Her father John grew up on a farm in Lost Nation. Her mother Pierrette’s family immigrated from Switzerland when she was young and she grew up in NYC. The two met while working on JFK’s presidential campaign when they were both students at Georgetown University.
The family moved to Iowa in 1966. John practiced law in Davenport for a time and then served on Governor Hughes’s staff in Des Moines for year before being hired by Model Cities program. In 1976 he became a public defender in Clinton. Mary and her seven siblings attended North Catholic Elementary School and Mater Dei High School.
Mary graduated from high school in 1981. During the next few years she travelled the country, taking college courses at Georgetown and Loyola. She received her Bachelors in English from the University of Iowa in 1989. In the Spring of 1992, Mary graduated from UofIA law school, passed the bar exam, and returned to Clinton to work with her father at his firm. Her son John Steger, was born in 1994.
Mary is a former board member of the IAJ’s criminal defense section, from its inception in 2004 through Fall of 2009. Her firm in Clinton handles primarily family law, criminal defense, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. She is the only woman attorney in Clinton in private practice. She obtained targeted small business status last Fall. She is currently a board member of the Clinton County Justice Coordinating Council.
Mary is an active member of the local YMCA, and plans on running in the annual Brry-Scurry race coming up in early February. Her son John attended Prince of Peace for elementary school and is currently a freshman at Clinton High School.
Category Candidates 2011, Recent News |
Author: rachellethomas Published: September 28th, 2010
Anesa Kajtazovic
House District 21
Waterloo
Contact: (319) 504-2733
Anesa was born in Western Bosnia. It was at the age of seven that Anesa was exposed to the destruction of the conflict in Bosnia. She and her parents and sister fled the country as refugees. They spent 4 years in various refugee camps before taking the opportunity to move to Iowa in 1997 with the hopes of a better, more stable life with more opportunities.
Upon Anesa’s parent’s arrival to Iowa with very limited resources and language barriers, they were quickly faced with obstacles and hurdles regarding employment. Both of Anesa’s parents went on to find labor jobs, sometimes holding multiple jobs, while Anesa & her sister were children. While her parents worked at manual labor jobs, Anesa quickly was reminded of how important having a union represent the workforce can be, as her mother was injured on the job and was denied the opportunity to visit the physician of her choice.
Anesa excelled in school and went on to earn both her Business and Public Administration Bachelor Degrees from the University of Northern Iowa in 2007, 3 years after she graduated High School.
After college, Anesa eventually went on to gain employment at GMAC Mortgage, where she assists homeowners keep their home as a mortgage analyst. She has been an active member of the Waterloo community and was recently named as a member of the Waterloo Community Development board and has been active with the Black Hawk Democratic Central Committee since 2006.
http://www.anesaforiowahouse.com
Tags: anesa kajtazovic, hd 21, iowa house district 21, waterloo
Category Candidates 2011, Recent News |
Author: rachellethomas Published: September 23rd, 2010
Kurt Meyer
House District 14
St. Ansgar
Contact: 641-326-2255
Kurt Meyer grew up on a small farm in Otranto Township, near Mona, and is the fifth generation in his family to live in this rural neighborhood. He and his wife, Paula, are graduates of Luther College and have been married for 31 years. They have three children – Margaret, 25; Eleanor, 22; and Ethan, 19. For the last three decades, Kurt has been a consultant to more than 300 nonprofit organizations, helping institutions strengthen their programs, balance their budgets, and expand their facilities.
He is involved in many local, regional, national, and international organizations. He is active in Mona Lutheran Church, where he teaches Sunday school. He is president of Advocates for a Cleaner Environment (ACE) and, as a member of the Mitchell County Historic Preservation Commission, was chair of the recent Julia Addington celebration. (Addington, the first woman voted into public office in the U.S., was elected Mitchell County Superintendent of Schools in 1869.) He has been active in Iowa Democratic politics in various capacities and served in staff positions with former Senator John Culver, former Congressman Mike Blouin, and the late State Senator Milo Merritt, from Osage.
Kurt has lectured extensively on the life and works of Iowa author Hamlin Garland and is former chair of the national Hamlin Garland Society. He serves as a volunteer committee member of the Lutheran Campus Ministry program, the National Council of Churches, and Friends of Ngong Road, an organization founded by his wife, Paula, that provides education to AIDS orphans in Kenya.
Tags: Charles City, HD 14, Iowa House District 14, kurt meyer, St. Ansgar
Category Candidates 2011, Recent News |
Author: rachellethomas Published: September 22nd, 2010
Seldon Spencer
House District 10
Huxley
Contact: (515) 597-3165
Selden Spencer, a resident of Huxley, is a candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, District 10. A doctor at McFarland Clinic in Ames, Selden and his wife Jean moved to Iowa in 1990 to raise their children and to be closer to her family. Jean is a pediatric specialist, and their three children are now grown and working or in college.
Selden is involved in professional, political and church activities. He has served on the finance committee at the clinic and volunteers with the Ames Free Medical Clinic. In 2007 he chaired the Commission on Wellness for the state of Iowa, and he has been a member of the HAWK-I Board (the state program committed to children’s health care) since 2007.
In Huxley he is active in community affairs and serves on the Huxley Tree Board. Additionally, he is a church elder, Sunday school teacher, and former youth group mission leader at Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames.
Activities that continue to shape Selden Spencer’s life and reflect his concern for others involve work in overseas mission service, including a 2006 trip to Afghanistan, serving on the medical team at Special Olympics and Iowa Games, and assisting with Boy Scouts. As time permits, he enjoys music, sports, and traveling to visit his children.
http://www.spencerforiahouse.com
Tags: HD 10, Huxley, Iowa House District 10, Seldon Spencer
Category Candidates 2011, Recent News |
