Matthew W. "Matt" McCoy (born March 29, 1966) is a member of the Board of Supervisors of

Polk County, Iowa Polk County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 492,401. It is Iowa's most populous county, and home to over 15% of the state's residents. The county seat is Des Moines, which is also the capital city ...

, representing the fifth district. A member of the Iowa Democratic Party, McCoy served in the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1997-2019 and 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 1993-1997. McCoy was the first openly gay member of the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...

Biography

McCoy graduated from Dowling Catholic High School, in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk County, Iowa, Polk, Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas, Warren County, Iowa, Warren, and Madison County, Iowa, Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of ...

, and received his B.A. from

Briar Cliff College Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa. History In March 1929, Mother Mary Dominica Wieneke, Major Superior of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, along with the Most Rev. Edmond Heelan, Bishop ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. In 2016, McCoy completed Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a

David Bohnett David C. Bohnett (born April 2, 1956) is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social ...

LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

Iowa House and Senate

McCoy was elected to the

in 1992 from the 67th district. In 1996, he was elected to the

from the 34th District. While in the Iowa Senate, McCoy served on several committees, including commerce, local government, transportation, and appropriations. McCoy was re-elected in 2006 with 13,276 votes (66%), defeating Republican opponent Nicholas G. van Patten, and again in 2010. On January 31, 2018, McCoy announced he would not seek reelection to the Iowa State Senate and instead would run for Polk County Supervisor from District Five, a seat held by Democrat John Mauro for the previous 16 years. McCoy defeated Mauro in the Democratic primary in June 2018 and won the general election in November 2018.

Personal life

McCoy has one son, Jack, and worships at Plymouth Congregational Church.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Matt Democratic Party Iowa state senators Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives 1966 births Living people LGBT Protestants LGBT state legislators in Iowa Gay politicians Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Briar Cliff University alumni 21st-century American politicians