DAVENPORT, Iowa – Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republican nominee in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race, has announced the formation of an economic advisory council consisting of 63 small business owners from across the district who will advocate for policies to fully reopen the Iowa and U.S. economies, returning them to pre-pandemic employment levels and focusing on ways to bring more jobs and growth to southern and eastern Iowa.
“In these uncertain times, we need leaders in Congress who will preserve, plan ahead and get Iowans safely back to work. We need leaders who will listen but will also act. We are confident that Mariannette Miller-Meeks is the leader who can do exactly that — help reopen our economy, get Iowans safely back to work, and advance policies that will make our economy stronger than ever in the future,” said council chair Barbara Kniff-McCulla of Pella, owner and CEO of KLK Construction and the former president of the National Federation of Independent Business’ Iowa Chapter.
Advisory council members include: Sharron McKee of Appanoose County; Deb Pruess of Cedar County; Dave Kalk of Clarke County; Chris Busker of Clinton County; Gary McPherson, Joe Nichols and Sally Nichols of Des Moines County; Judi Collora and John Mitchell of Henry County; William Clark of Jasper County; Michelle Burgmeier, David Dickey, Cattrione Faircrest and Ron Bovard of Jefferson County; Jack Goedeken, Cathy Grawe and Phil Hemmingway of Johnson County; Tanya and Douglas Webster of Keokuk County; Chris Riegel of Lee County; Robert McCulley, Kevin Schlutz and John Corey of Louisa County; Paul Goldsmith of Lucas County; Michael Jackson of Mahaska County; T. Waldmann-Williams, Lana Pol and Barbara Kniff-McCulla of Marion County; Michael Gaeta, Nancy Miller and Larry Miller of Muscatine County; Ryan Jensen, Jonathan Wallace, David Bosko, Andrew Kay, Bob Olness, Bobby Schilling, Antonio Collins, Jeanelle Westrom, Maggie Tinsman, Carol Paustian, Steve McGuire, KV Dahl, Jim Tucker, Tim Brandenburg, Ron Gruenhagen, Gary Weber and Jane Weber of Scott County; Troy Scheuermann, and Tom Sullivan of Van Buren County; Trudy and Keith Caviness, Marty Helgerson, Jeff Hendred, Sandra Hendred, Scott Kirby, Bryan Lee, Connie Lee, Pam Croft, and Kelli McDonald of Wapello County; Abe Miller of Washington County; and Stan Lovett and David Wampler of Wayne County.
“I am honored to have such a great group of small business owners come together to support our campaign and offer their input on policies to safely reopen our economy” Miller-Meeks said. “I trust the advice and guidance of this group of people who all have a stake in Iowa’s economy. I will always pursue policies that are best for our small businesses, their employees and for the people of the 2nd district.”
Miller-Meeks is an ophthalmologist and a 24-year U.S. Army veteran who represents Iowa Senate District 41, which includes Davis, Jefferson, Van Buren and Wapello counties. She is seeking the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, a seven-term Democratic congressman. After 14 years of Democrat control, Monmouth University polling has placed Miller-Meeks 3 points ahead of her Democratic opponent Rita Hart. Among the 31 Democrat-controlled House districts won by President Trump in 2016, Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District is the only open seat in the country.