Amy Nielsen

Amy Nielsen is a Democratic member of the Iowa House of Representatives. She has represented the 85th district, which encompasses the cities of North Liberty, Tiffin, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville, and Lone Tree as well as rural areas surrounding Iowa City to the west and south, since January 2017. Prior to her election to the House, she was Mayor of North Liberty from November 2014 to December 2016.

For the character, see Amy Nielsen (Sunset Beach).
Amy Nielsen
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
from the 85th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2017
Preceded bySally Stutsman
Mayor of North Liberty
In office
November 4, 2014 – December 31, 2016
Preceded byGerry Kuhl
Succeeded byTerry Donahue[1]
Personal details
Born1977 (age 45–46)
Keokuk, Iowa
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceNorth Liberty, Iowa
Alma materKirkwood Community College
Websitehttp://www.amyforiowa.com/

Early life, education, and career

Nielsen was born in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1978. Due to her father's job in the auto industry, the family moved to Tennessee for a brief time before relocating back to the Iowan community of Hills outside of Iowa City, where both of her parents ended up working for local banks. She attended Iowa City West High School, graduating in 1995. After two years at Kirkwood Community College, she and her husband left Iowa and began to move around the country for his job at Kimberly Clark.[2]

Now a stay-at-home mother of three children, she and her family made it back to Iowa, settling down in the rapidly growing community of North Liberty. There, she began serving on the PTO of her children's school and worked on a revenue purpose campaign with the Iowa City School District. She headed multiple campaigns from local school board up to county commissioner and organized a "walking school bus" project for kids.[2] Nielsen also sat on the board of directors for the North Liberty Community Pantry and served as member of the Iowa City Community School District's Equity Advisory Committee.[3]

This experience motivated her to apply for a city council seat that had opened up upon the passing of North Liberty's mayor. Although she wasn't selected, she decided to run for mayor the following year. Despite her relative inexperience and her opponent's stellar record of 15 years public service, Nielsen won with 55% of the vote.[3]

In 2015, when Sally Stutsman announced that she would not seek reelection, House leadership reached out to Nielsen, who initially declined. However, after reconsideration, she ultimately agreed and decided to launch a campaign around school funding.[2] She ran against former Tiffin Mayor, Royce Phillips.[4]

Electoral history
Election Political result Candidate Party Votes %
North Liberty's mayoral election, 2014[3] win Amy Nielsen2,60955.11
Gerry Kuhl 2,12544.89
Iowa's 77th District primary election, 2016[5]Democratic win Amy NielsenDemocratic66763.46
Abbie Weipert Democratic38436.54
Iowa's 77th District election, 2016Democratic hold Amy NielsenDemocratic10,21757.79
Royce Phillips Republican7,46142.21

Political endorsement

She recorded a video in support of Cory 2020,

When he was mayor of Newark, Cory was able to bring people together to accomplish things ... As a former mayor myself, I know the types of tough decisions that you must make when you are the city's Chief Executive Officer, and how that prepares you to tackle big things in the future ...[6]

References
  1. "Terry Donahue appointed North Liberty mayor". Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Gazette. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  2. "Rising Star Profile: North Liberty Mayor Amy Nielsen". Des Moines, Iowa: Iowa Starting Line. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  3. "Amy Nielsen upsets incumbent to serve as N.L. mayor". Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa City Press-Citizen. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  4. Gruber-Miller, Stephen (8 November 2016). "Amy Nielsen defeats Royce Phillips in District 77 race". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. "Iowa House of Representatives District 77". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  6. @RepAmyNielsen (2019-02-26). "Now more than ever, we need someone who can deliver a message of optimism and unity. That's why I'm excited to announce my endorsement" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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