Dorothy F. Carpenter (; March 13, 1933 – April 2, 2011) was an American politician. She was a Republican member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1980 to 1994.

Early life

Carpenter was born on March 13, 1933, in

Ismay, Montana Ismay is a town in Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 17 at the 2020 census. The town is the least-populous incorporated municipality in the state of Montana. The town's name is an amalgamation of Isabella and May, the na ...

. Her parents were Daniel A. Fulton and Mary Ann Fulton (née George). She grew up on a ranch assisting her father. She attended Custer County High School in Miles City, Montana, where she graduated in 1951. She received a bachelor's of arts degree in history from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, in 1955. While at the college, she met Thomas Ward Carpenter who she married the same year. The couple moved to

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where Carpenter taught elementary school from 1955 to 1957 while her husband was in the military. They moved to

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, in 1958 while Tom attended law school and then to

West Des Moines West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the ...

. They had two children: Mary Ione and James Thonas. Carpenter was active in the community, serving as a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

of Metro Des Moines,

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...

, Planned Parenthood of Iowa, and the Iowa Women's Political Caucus of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She also joined the West Des Moines Human Rights Commission and the Terrace Hill Society Board. She was on the board of directors for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 1977 to 1980.

Political career

Carpenter was first elected as a representative of the

in 1980. She was a Republican representing the 66th district. She was re-elected in 1983 as the representative for the 82nd district and again in 1993 as the representative for the 74th district. She served for 14 years, retiring from politics in 1994. She was appointed as the assistant minority floor leader from 1980 to 1988. She was a member of the Ways and Means, State Government, Education and House Administration and Rule committees and chair of the State Government and Ethics Committee from 1992 to 1994.

Later life

In 2006, Carpenter changed her party affiliation from Republican to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

due to differing views on abortion. She died on April 2, 2011, at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Dorothy 1933 births 2011 deaths People from Custer County, Montana Grinnell College alumni 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Iowa Democrats