Rielly Not To Seek 3rd Term
Iowa Senator Tom Rielly (D)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Tom Rielly After many months of consideration and thought, I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election to a third term to the Iowa State Senate. Please believe me, my wife, Mary and I are not I am not making this decision on a whim and it was not an easy one to make.
For the past 15 years, as a Mayor and State Senator, I have had the honor and privilege of representing the many great citizens of Oskaloosa, as well as other communities in Mahaska, Poweshiek, Tama, Iowa and Keokuk counties. Since 2005, I am proud to have:
• Improved Iowa’s business climate by creating more opportunities for Main Street businesses to expand and hire more employees.
• Made Iowa is a more inviting place for retirees and other senior citizens by phasing out state income taxes on Social Security benefits and pension income.
• Helped enact the Smoke Free Air Act
• Stood up for the civil rights of all Iowans
• Ensured universal pre-school
• Guaranteed that all Iowa children have access to affordable health insurance and that kids can stay on their parents’ plans until the age of 26
• Made it easier for small employers to obtain health insurance by authoring the uniformed health insurance application
• Fought for autistic children to get the proper care they need
• Helped make higher education more affordable for students at our small colleges, community colleges and state universities
• Improved the quality of life in smaller Iowa communities by expanding cultural and recreational opportunities across our state.
I am proud of the crusade I lead to improve the safety of our roads and bridges, while putting people back to work. While I am disappointed and concerned the can will yet again be kicked down the road, I will continue to fight for this crucial cause.
I guess what I am most proud of is that I did work in a bi-partisan manner. I did reach across party lines and tried to the best of my ability to pass good policy and put politics on the sideline. While I have not been afraid of facing controversial issues head on, I tried to do so in a respectful, civil and professional manner.
Recently, I have had many changes in my life. I am committed to staying closer to home because I have an exciting new business opportunity that I will be announcing over the next few weeks; and because Mary and I are “empty nesters” for the first time in our marriage.
I am not saying good bye to public service. I always have and always will be committed to public service, it’s just time for me to stay closer to home.
I am confident that I could make this a competitive race in the new district. Believe me, I like a good fight and robust debate. However, I have to weigh the time needed to run an effective race versus expanding my business, spending more time with Mary, visiting our daughters as that participate in collegiate volleyball, and doting over our two little pooches, Bean and Lucy.
This is one of the most difficult decisions that I have made in quite some time. While it has been an honor to represent the citizens of Senate District 38 for the past eight years and while I remain more committed than ever to Public Service, I choose Family.
