Liz Mathis

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Liz Mathis

|image = Liz Mathis.jpg

|state_senate = Iowa

|district = 34th

|term_start = November 21, 2011

|term_end =

|predecessor = Swati Dandekar

|successor =

|constituency = 18th (2011–2013)

|birth_name = Elizabeth Ann Rumann

|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958|}}

|birth_place = DeWitt, Iowa, U.S.

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|spouse = Mark Mathis

|education = University of Iowa (BA)

|website = [https://lizmathis.com/ Campaign website]

}}

Elizabeth Ann Mathis (née Rumann, 1958) is an American politician, non-profit executive and former broadcast journalist who has served as an Iowa State Senator since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected to represent the 18th district in a November 2011 special election and re-elected to the redrawn 34th district in 2012. Mathis was the Democratic nominee for Iowa's 1st congressional district in 2022, losing the general election to incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson.

Mathis, who co-chairs the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee, serves on Education, Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources and full Appropriations committees. She is also the legislative liaison to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Mathis is the chief community officer for a child welfare and juvenile justice agency, Four Oaks.

Early life and education

Mathis was born on a farm in rural DeWitt, Iowa, in 1958. Her mother, Mary Eleanor Rumann, was a schoolteacher and nurse who served in World War II. Her father, James Edward Rumann, was a farmer and school board member who also served in the war. Mathis received her bachelor's degree in 1980 from the University of Iowa, where she double-majored in broadcasting and film and in journalism. To put herself through college, she worked weekends as a production assistant at WMT-TV.{{dead link|date=November 2022}}

Career

= Journalism =

After graduating from college, she joined KWWL as a reporter and anchor, doing "a little bit of everything" from their newly opened Cedar Rapids bureau. Soon after joining the station, she moved to Waterloo to become an evening co-anchor alongside Ron Steele at the age of 23. Taking a break from broadcasting, she joined the faculty of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in August 1996, where she taught electronic media. In 1998 she became a news anchor, reporter and producer at KCRG-TV, where she remained for nine years.{{dead link|date=November 2022}} In July 2007, she retired from broadcasting to become vice president for community relations for Horizons—A Family Service Alliance, a non-profit counseling and assistance agency in Cedar Rapids. She later became chief community officer for Four Oaks.

=Iowa Senate=

Mathis was nominated in September 2011 by the Iowa Democratic Party to run for the state senate seat vacated by Democrat Swati Dandekar. Mathis faced Republican candidate Cindy Golding in a special election held on November 8, 2011. The election was politically significant for the state, as the Republican Party controlled the Iowa governorship and General Assembly, and the Democrats stood to lose their one-seat majority in the state Senate. Mathis won the election by 56 to 44 percent{{cite news |url=http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/11/08/special-election-winner-democrat-liz-mathis/ |title=Special election winner: Democrat Liz Mathis |work=Des Moines Register |date=November 8, 2011 |author=Clayworth, Jason}} and was sworn in on November 21, 2011.{{cite news|url=http://jdeeth.blogspot.com/2011/11/beret-bets-bob-backs.html|title=Beret Bets Bob Backs...|work=John Deeth Blog|date=2011-11-21|access-date=2011-11-21|last=Deeth|first=John}} She sat on the Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources, and Ways and Means committees.{{cite web |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislator.aspx?GA=84&PID=11911 |title=Iowa Legislator – Senator Liz Mathis (84th General Assembly) |work=The Iowa Legislature |access-date=2013-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521221305/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislator.aspx?GA=84&PID=11911 |archive-date=2012-05-21 |url-status=dead }}

She was challenged for re-election in November 2012 by Ryan Flood, a libertarian Super PAC director and financial services representative. She ran in the newly drawn 34th district, and largely agreed with her challenger on lowering Iowa's property taxes and opposing a gas tax increase. Neither candidate took a stance on a proposed casino in nearby Cedar Rapids.{{cite news |url=http://thegazette.com/2012/10/26/iowa-senate-34-candidates-dont-care-whether-cedar-rapids-get-casino-license/ |title=Iowa Senate 34 candidates 'don't care' whether Cedar Rapids get casino license |date=October 26, 2012 |author=Lynch, James Q. |work=The Gazette |location=Cedar Rapids, IA}} Mathis was elected with around 60 percent of the vote.{{cite news |url=http://thegazette.com/2012/11/06/3-incumbents-fall-in-linn-legislative-races/ |title=3 incumbents fall in Linn legislative races |author=Rasdal, Dave |date=November 6, 2012 |work=The Gazette |location=Cedar Rapids, IA |access-date=2013-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312163249/http://thegazette.com/2012/11/06/3-incumbents-fall-in-linn-legislative-races/ |archive-date=2013-03-12 |url-status=dead }}

=U.S. House campaign=

In 2021, Mathis announced her intent to run for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 election.{{cite news |last1=Tabick |first1=Brian |title=Hinson announces re-election bid while Democrats protest her coronavirus vote |url=https://www.kcrg.com/2021/08/29/hinson-announces-re-election-bid-while-democrats-protest-her-coronavirus-vote/ |access-date=31 August 2021 |work=www.kcrg.com |date=August 29, 2021 |language=en}} She lost the general election to incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson.{{cite news |last1=Lathrop |first1=Daniel |title=Republican Ashley Hinson wins second term representing northeast Iowa in Congress |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/2022/11/09/us-house-district-2-results-ashley-hinson-defeats-liz-mathis/69617916007/ |access-date=7 December 2022 |work=The Des Moines Register |date=November 9, 2022}}

Personal life

She is married to Mark Mathis III, who owns the advertising agency ME&V. They live outside the city of Robins, and have two children, Mark IV and Mary Fran. Mathis has also taught part-time at the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and remains a member of the Wartburg Board of Regents.

References

{{reflist|refs=

Background and family information:

{{cite web |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislatorAllYears.aspx?PID=11911 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217144010/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/Legislators/legislatorAllYears.aspx?PID=11911 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-17 |title=Liz Mathis |work=The Iowa Legislature (official website) }}
{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_text_advanced-0=(%22what's%20in%20a%20middle%20name%22) |title=What's in a middle name? Find out today |author=Kapler, Anne Marie |date=March 7, 2004 |work=The Gazette |location=Cedar Rapids, IA }}
{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_text_advanced-0=(%22mary%20eleanor%20rumann%22) |title=Mary Eleanor Rumann |date=April 15, 2009 |work=The Gazette }} [Obituary].
{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_text_advanced-0=(%22james%20edward%20rumann%22) |title=James Edward Rumann |date=July 3, 2006 |work=The Gazette }} [Obituary].

{{cite news

|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_text_advanced-0=(%22former%20competitors%20on%20same%20team%22)

|title=Former competitors on same team |author=Rasdal, Dave |date=February 25, 2001 |work=The Gazette}}

{{cite news

|url=http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/former-tv-anchorwoman-liz-mathis-picked-to-run-for-open/article_11c69b58-ea80-11e0-9627-001cc4c03286.html |title=Former TV anchorwoman Liz Mathis picked to run for open Iowa Senate seat |author=Lynch, James Q. |date=September 29, 2011 |work=The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier}}

{{cite news

|url=http://wcfcourier.com/linn-county-democrats-hope-voters-tune-in-on-mathis/article_511e0591-8f16-55ae-b1ff-86fed747b7f1.html

|title=Linn County Democrats hope voters tune in on Mathis |author=Lynch, James Q. |date=September 29, 2011 |work=The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier}}

{{cite news

|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CR&p_theme=cr&p_action=search&p_text_advanced-0=(%22liz%20mathis%20back%20in%20the%20spotlight%22)

|title=Liz Mathis back in the spotlight |author=Chacey, Beth |date=November 21, 1998 |work=The Gazette}}

{{cite news |url=http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/_includes/documents/alumni/mag08.pdf |title=Six Are Named Alumni Fellows |work=Arts and Sciences |publisher=University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |page=36 |date=Fall 2008 |access-date=2011-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804154839/http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/_includes/documents/alumni/mag08.pdf |archive-date=2009-08-04 |url-status=dead }}}}

External links

[https://lizmathis.com/ Liz Mathis for Congress] campaign website
[https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=88&personID=10318 Senator Liz Mathis] official legislative website

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 18th district|years= 2011–2013}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 34th district|years= 2013–present}}

Category:1958 births

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:American television news anchors

Category:American women academics

Category:American women television journalists

Category:Candidates in the 2011 United States elections

Category:Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections

Category:Democratic Party Iowa state senators

Category:21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly

Category:Living people