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Sen. Black: To seek re-election
3/19/2010

For Immediate Release: March 18, 2010

Contact: Dennis Black (515) 975-8608

Senator Dennis Black to seek re-election

State Senator Dennis Black, (D-Lynnville), has filed his papers with the Secretary of State for re-election to the Iowa Senate, District 21. The district covers all of Jasper County (with the exception of Fairview Township and the city of Monroe), and southeast Polk County, including the communities of Mitchellville, Bondurant, Altoona, Norwoodville and Runnells. A small segment of the northeast part of the city of Des Moines is included in this vast senate district. Senator Black has represented District 21 since its inception in 2002.

According to Senator Black, his campaign will continue to focus on job creation through the export of Iowa’s manufactured and agricultural products. For fifteen years, Black has worked in trade and good-will missions to Pacific Rim countries, from Korea on south to Japan, Taiwan and China. Iowa grown meats and grains have been the commodities that have resulted in billions of dollars in Iowa sales to these countries. According to Black, “Iowa is number one in the nation in the production of corn, soybeans, pork and eggs. We are second in beef. As such, our greatest contribution to the world is agriculture, and with the sale of these products, our farmers are a foundation for assisting the growth of small businesses throughout the state.”

Other primary components of his campaign will include definitive means by which the state can reduce small business capital gains taxes; working towards an overhaul of tax policy, inclusive of property taxes; and expanding transparency and public oversight of tax supported agencies and programs throughout the state. According to Black, “Iowans are tired of ‘government as usual,’ and recessionary times require bold and decisive measures to ensure that each dollar spent provides essential services to our citizens.”

Senator Black has long been recognized as a leading legislative authority on natural resource management, and has authored over 300 professional and technical papers and reports on the protection and preservation of Iowa’s natural resources. He was instrumental in the design, report preparation and federal-aid coordination of many of Iowa’s rural water districts, including the Rathbun Regional Water District and the district now headquartered in Jasper County. Black served 35 years as Director of the Jasper County Conservation Board, retiring in 2005.

Black is the current Chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, and has membership on the standing committees of Agriculture, State Government, Veteran’s Affairs, Natural Resources, International Relations, and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

Black has been active in community and state affairs, serving on the Newton Community School Board, the Des Moines River Greenbelt Commission, the Terrace Hill Commission, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, the Jasper Community Foundation, and many other local and state commissions and boards. Black was an active participant in Polk County in the recent coordination of Freedom Flights for WWII veterans to Washington, D. C.

Senator Black has been honored by many organizations for his dedication and contribution to the state and it’s public policy. As such, he has been selected 16 times as “Legislator of the Year” by various organizations. Examples include the prestigious Herbert Hoover Uncommon Public Service Award; the Conservationist of the Year by the National Wildlife Federation; the Protector of Freedom Award by the National Rifle Association, and state recognition by the Iowa Realtors Association, the Iowa Corngrowers Association, the Iowa Hospital Association, ABATE of Iowa, and many other statewide groups.

Black is the author of a 368 page book, currently being published, entitled Profiles of Valor. Iowa’s Medal of Honor Recipients of the Civil War. The history of these Iowan’s role in the Civil War is expected in bookstores by May 1. All proceeds of the book are being donated by the author to the State Historical Society of Iowa for the expressed purpose of restoration and preservation of the state’s complete Muster Records of the Civil War.

Senator Black and his wife, Faun, live north of Lynnville on an acreage. They have three children, all residing in the Des Moines area, and five grandchildren.


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