Liz Mathis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elizabeth Ann Mathis (née Rumann, 1958) is an American politician, non-profit executive and former broadcast journalist who has served as an Iowa State Senator since 2011. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, she was elected to represent the 18th district in a November 2011 special election and re-elected to the redrawn 34th district in 2012. Mathis was the Democratic nominee for
Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northeastern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities o ...
in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, losing the general election to incumbent Republican
Ashley Hinson Ashley Elizabeth Hinson (born June 27, 1983) is an American politician and journalist serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district comprises much of the northeast quadrant of the state, includi ...
. Mathis, who co-chairs the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee, serves on Education, Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources and full Appropriations committees. She is also the legislative liaison to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Mathis is the chief community officer for a child welfare and juvenile justice agency, Four Oaks.


Early life and education

Mathis was born on a farm in rural
DeWitt, Iowa DeWitt is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,215 at the time of the 2020 census, which represented a 9.2% increase over that of 2000, making it the fastest growing city in Clinton County. History DeWitt was plat ...
, in 1958. Her mother, Mary Eleanor Rumann, was a schoolteacher and nurse who served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Her father, James Edward Rumann, was a farmer and school board member who also served in the war. Mathis received her bachelor's degree in 1980 from the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, where she double-majored in broadcasting and film and in journalism. To put herself through college, she worked weekends as a production assistant at
WMT-TV KGAN (channel 2) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of CBS and Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to D ...
.


Career


Journalism

After graduating from college, she joined KWWL as a reporter and anchor, doing "a little bit of everything" from their newly opened
Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...
bureau. Soon after joining the station, she moved to Waterloo to become an evening co-anchor alongside Ron Steele at the age of 23. Taking a break from broadcasting, she joined the faculty of
Wartburg College Wartburg College is a private Lutheran liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa. It has an additional campus, Wartburg West, in Denver, Colorado. History Wartburg College was founded in 1852 in Saginaw, Michigan, by Georg M. Grossmann, a nati ...
in
Waverly, Iowa Waverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,394 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo– Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The sister cit ...
in August 1996, where she taught electronic media. In 1998 she became a news anchor, reporter and producer at
KCRG-TV KCRG-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Second Avenue Southeast in dow ...
, where she remained for nine years. In July 2007, she retired from broadcasting to become vice president for community relations for Horizons—A Family Service Alliance, a non-profit counseling and assistance agency in Cedar Rapids. She later became chief community officer for Four Oaks.


Iowa Senate

Mathis was nominated in September 2011 by the Iowa Democratic Party to run for the state senate seat vacated by Democrat
Swati Dandekar Swati A. Dandekar ( mr, स्वाती दांडेकर; was born March 6, 1951) is a former Iowa state legislator and former U.S. Executive Director at the Asian Development Bank. She is a Democratic member of the Iowa Utilities Board, ...
. Mathis faced
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 ...
candidate Cindy Golding in a special election held on November 8, 2011. The election was politically significant for the state, as the Republican Party controlled the Iowa governorship and
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
, and the Democrats stood to lose their one-seat majority in the state Senate. Mathis won the election by 56 to 44 percent and was sworn in on November 21, 2011. She sat on the Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources, and Ways and Means committees. She was challenged for re-election in November 2012 by Ryan Flood, a
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
Super PAC director and financial services representative. She ran in the newly drawn 34th district, and largely agreed with her challenger on lowering Iowa's property taxes and opposing a gas tax increase. Neither candidate took a stance on a proposed casino in nearby Cedar Rapids. Mathis was elected with around 60 percent of the vote.


U.S. House campaign

In 2021, Mathis announced her intent to run for
Iowa's 2nd congressional district Iowa's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers most of its southeastern part. It includes Davenport, Iowa City, Muscatine, Clinton, Burlington, Ottumwa, Fort Madison, Oskaloosa, Bettendo ...
in the 2022 election. She lost the general election to incumbent Republican
Ashley Hinson Ashley Elizabeth Hinson (born June 27, 1983) is an American politician and journalist serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district since 2021. Her district comprises much of the northeast quadrant of the state, includi ...
.


Personal life

She is married to Mark Mathis III, who owns the advertising agency ME&V. They live outside the city of
Robins Robins may refer to: Places United States *Robins, Iowa, a small city * Robins, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Robins Township, Fall River County, South Dakota * Robins Island, of the coast of New York state *Robins Air Force Base, Georgia *R ...
, and have two children, Mark IV and Mary Fran. Mathis has also taught part-time at the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and remains a member of the Wartburg Board of Regents.


See also

*
KWWL (TV) KWWL (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Waterloo, Iowa, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for Eastern Iowa. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, KWWL maintains studios on East 5th Street in Waterloo, with news bureaus and a ...
*
KCRG-TV KCRG-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, serving Eastern Iowa as an affiliate of ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Second Avenue Southeast in dow ...


References


Further reading

*Gollnick, Kimn Swenson (2007).
Liz Mathis: Former Broadcaster Braves New Horizons
. Archived from the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
''Journalist''


External links


Liz Mathis for Congress
campaign website
Senator Liz Mathis
official legislative website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Liz 1958 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American television news anchors American women academics American women television journalists Candidates in the 2011 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Democratic Party Iowa state senators Living people University of Iowa alumni University of Iowa faculty Wartburg College faculty Women state legislators in Iowa