Ray Zirkelbach (born October 20, 1978) is a former state legislator, prison counselor and soldier. He was raised on a farm in Scotch Grove, Iowa and graduated from Monticello High School in 1997. Zirkelbach served in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing the 31st District, from 2005 to 2011. He was deployed in Iraq as an Iowa National Guard

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

, in the First Battalion of the 133rd Infantry. He holds a BA from the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in Administration of Justice. He did not sit in the 2006 or 2007 session of the Iowa House, because he was on active duty with the

Iowa National Guard The Iowa National Guard consists of the: *Iowa Army National Guard and the * Iowa Air National Guard The Iowa National Guard headquarters is at Camp Dodge in Johnston, several miles north of the state capital Des Moines. The facility serves do ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. During his last term in the Iowa House, he was Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee and a member of the Appropriations, Commerce and Agricultural committees, and was selected to serve on the Justice Systems Appropriations Committee. Ray has since continued his public service as a correctional counselor at the

Anamosa State Penitentiary Anamosa State Penitentiary is a maximum security penitentiary prison located in the Jones County community of Anamosa, Iowa – approximately northeast of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Prison Operation As of 21 February 2016, the penitentiary was home ...

and program director of Advancement Services of Jones County. He has focused his efforts in community restoration projects and has since purchased and actively renovates properties in the area. On November 8, 2015, Zirkelbach announced he will be exploring a campaign for US Senate. Zirkelbach declined pursuing the nomination, focusing on macro-level social work. At this time Zirkelbach works as consultant and documentarian for an urban farming project in Flint, Michigan.

Electoral history

Zirkelbach was first elected to the Iowa House in 2004 with 8,712 votes, defeating incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

opponent Gene Manternach. He was reelected in 2006 with 8,447 votes, running unopposed. He was reelected in 2008 with 9,818 votes, defeating Republican opponent Dena Himes in a campaign that focused on

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...

wind energy Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically, w ...

, and

veterans affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. Zirkelbach endorsed

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...

in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. He proposed a ban on the sale of imported flags (

U.S. flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...

or Iowa state flag) in Iowa. He lost his bid for reelection in 2010 with 5,431 votes, losing to Republican Lee Hein. *incumbent

References

External links

Ray Zirkelbach
''official Iowa General Assembly site''
Ray Zirkelbach State Representative
''official constituency site'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zirkelbach, Ray 1978 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army soldiers People from Monticello, Iowa American prison officers University of Wyoming alumni People from Manchester, Iowa Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Iowa National Guard personnel