The Iowa GOP held a special nomination convention to select a candidate for the Iowa Senate District 22 special election due to the death of State Senator Pat Ward who passed away before the election. Six candidates ran: Clive Mayor Scott Cirksena, Greg Hudson who teaches at West Des Moines Valley High School, Isaiah McGee, Connie Schmett, West Des Moines City Councilman Charles Schneider, and husband of the last Senator Ward – John Ward.
After two rounds of balloting Schneider was declared the winner. Here is his bio from the City of West Des Moines website:
Charles was elected to the City Council in 2007. He is the Chair of the City Council’s Finance & Administration Subcommittee and serves on the Council’s Public Safety Subcommittee. He is also the Council’s liaison to the West Des Moines Water Works Board of Trustees and is a member of the Wastewater Reclamation Authority Board of Directors.
Prior to being elected, Charles served on the Plan and Zoning Commission, the Roadway Enhancement Group, the Performing Arts Center/Community Center Feasibility Study Advisory Committee, and the West Des Moines Community Celebration Committee. He is also a Past President of the West Des Moines Development Corporation, and has been a member of the Iowa Taxpayers Association’s Accountable Government Committee and the Central Iowa Shelter and Services Board of Directors.
Charles is Counsel for Principal Financial Group, where he has worked since 2007. He was a member of the 2006-2007 Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute and was named one of the Des Moines Business Record’s Forty Under 40 for 2007. He was also a member of the 2003-2004 Leadership Iowa class.
Charles attended Sacred Heart School and Dowling High School in West Des Moines before his family moved to Newton, where he graduated from Newton Senior High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Creighton University, and his law and MBA degrees from the University of Iowa. He and his wife Lisa reside in West Des Moines.
Schneider will face Democrat Desmund Adams in a special election on December 11, 2012.
Kevin Hall of The Iowa Republican live blogged the convention and had the following video:
I don’t really know anything about Schneider, but I do know with special elections that it is important to nominate someone with name recognition – especially when running against a candidate with a time advantage. Charles Schneider being a city councilman is one of the better known candidates, and he also has campaign cash on hand which will be very helpful in this brief race.
