Paul Pate

Paul Pate
28th and 32nd Secretary of State of Iowa
Assumed office
January 1, 2015
Governor Terry Branstad
Preceded by Matt Schultz
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Governor Terry Branstad
Preceded by Elaine Baxter
Succeeded by Chet Culver
Mayor of Cedar Rapids
In office
January 1, 2002 – January 1, 2006
Preceded by Lee Clancey
Succeeded by Kay Halloran
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by Richard Running
Succeeded by Mary Lundby
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 1, 1989 – January 1, 1993
Preceded by Hurley Hall
Succeeded by Richard Drake
Personal details
Born Paul Danny Pate, Jr.
(1958-05-01) May 1, 1958
Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Jane
Children Jennifer
Amber
Paul
Alma mater Kirkwood Community College

Paul Danny Pate, Jr. (born May 1, 1958) is an American businessman and politician from the State of Iowa.[1] A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the 32nd Iowa Secretary of State. He previously served as the 28th Secretary of State from 1995 to 1999. He also served in the Iowa Senate from 1989 to 1995, as the Mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002 to 2006 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Iowa in 1998.

Early and personal life

Pate was born in 1958 to parents Paul Sr. and Velma Pate. He received an Associate of Arts degree from Kirkwood Community College.[2] He married his wife Jane in 1978 and they have three children: Jennifer, Amber and Paul III.

Business career

Pate, a third-generation builder, is the President and owner of Pate Asphalt. He was also previously the President of Premier Group Corporation, the President and publisher of Pavco Publishing Company and was the President and owner of internet banking company PM Systems Corporation until it was bought by S1 Corporation in 2010.[3]

Political career

Pate was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 1988, for the 24th district. He was re-elected in 1992, for the 26th district. Both districts were located in Linn County.[4][5] He ran for Iowa Secretary of State in 1994 and was unopposed in the Republican primary. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Anne Pedersen, the Lee County Auditor, by 473,371 votes (51.73%) to 425,626 (46.51%).

He did not run for re-election in 1998, instead running for the Republican nomination for Governor of Iowa. Incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad chose not to run for a fifth term, so the seat was open. Pate came third out of three candidates in the Republican primary, with 13,299 votes (8.19%), behind telecommunications executive and Branstad's Chief of Staff David A. Oman, who took 35,402 votes (21.80%), and former U.S. Representative and 1996 Senate nominee Jim Ross Lightfoot, who won with 113,499 votes (69.89%).[6] Lightfoot went on to lose the general election to Democratic State Senator Tom Vilsack.

In 2001, Pate ran for Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, winning the officially non-partisan election with 20,210 votes (54.93%) to three-term incumbent Democratic Mayor Lee Clancey's 16,450 votes (44.71%). Pate ran for re-election in 2003 and defeated Paul T. Larson by 26,001 votes (76%) to 7,463 (21.81%).[7][8] He was an advocate of strong-mayor form of city government and chose not to run for re-election in 2005 after a city referendum backed a weak-mayor form of government instead. He then returned to running Pate Asphalt in Marion, Iowa.[9]

On January 18, 2010, Pate filed paperwork to notify the Iowa state election board that he was considering a run for his former position as Iowa Secretary of State against Democratic incumbent Michael Mauro. He was reportedly intrigued at the idea of being able to run for office alongside former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.[10] However, he decided not to run for the office.[11] He did however decide to run four years later after Republican incumbent Matt Schultz instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Iowa's 3rd congressional district.[12] Pate was unopposed in the Republican primary and faced Democrat Brad Anderson in the 2014 general election.[13] Pate defeated Anderson 49%-47%, returning to the Iowa secretary of state's office 20 years after he was first elected to the position.[14]

Upon returning to the Secretary of State's Office, Pate set out to institute a Safe at Home program in Iowa. Safe at Home is an address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking and stalking. The bill passed both chambers of the Iowa Legislature unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Terry Branstad in May.[15] Secretary Pate's office will administer the program.

Paul Pate was selected to participate in the prestigious 2015 Toll Fellowship Program. It is a leadership development program for state government officials, bringing 48 of the nation’s top officials from all three branches of state government together for an intensive six-day intellectual boot camp.[16] Google awarded Secretary Pate in July 2015 for his efforts to increase voter participation in Iowa. The award was presented during the National Association of Secretaries of State's annual conference.[17]

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Elaine Baxter		 Secretary of State of Iowa
1995–1999 		Succeeded by
Chet Culver
Preceded by
Lee Clancey		 Mayor of Cedar Rapids
2002–2006 		Succeeded by
Kay Halloran
Preceded by
Matt Schultz		 Secretary of State of Iowa
2015–present 		Incumbent
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