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Eric Green
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Eric Green (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Iowa State Senate to represent District 48. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Green completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Eric Green was born in Iowa City, Iowa. He became the owner and operator of Diamond Pi Company in Monticello, Iowa, on August 1, 2018.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 48
Incumbent Dan Zumbach defeated Eric Green in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 48 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Zumbach (R) | 65.1 | 22,544 |
 | Eric Green (D)  | 34.8 | 12,050 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 34 | ||
| Total votes: 34,628 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 48
Incumbent Dan Zumbach advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 48 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Zumbach | 99.5 | 4,799 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 22 | ||
| Total votes: 4,821 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Green's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Eric Green completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Green's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I grew up in the Monticello area, and graduated from Monticello High School. Then at Iowa State, I participated in Mini Baja and was a research assistant for Bioeconomy Institute. For much of the last ten years, I managed the Happy Joe's in Monticello and McOtto's in Anamosa. Nearly two years ago, I bought the Monticello location, turning it into Diamond Pi Company, still a pizzeria. I'm not married, nor do I have kids, but I make an effort to have the "Best Uncle" title from my nieces and nephew. I don't really have any competition there, but I like to put in the effort anyway. I enjoy following the Cyclones, NASCAR, science and tech-related news, and politics. I like attending events when I can, which already with my work schedule isn't too often and is even less often now. So I tend to get my fixes through probably too many podcasts.
- Though my own beliefs tend to be more progressive, I understand I may have to come more to the center on some issues to better align with those who I seek to represent. I offer some different viewpoints than my opponent on how the legislative agenda should be addressed for the people of Senate District 48.
- This pandemic impacted my business quite a bit, and as with many others. Tough choices were made to get through those first few months, but the doors are still open and I did not lose any employees. Being able to manage tough situations, work with people to solve problems and come up with ideas, and having a more youthful perspective would all help me to be an effective state senator.
- I try to look for solutions to problems that benefit everyone in the long run, not just a single person or group of people. People shouldn't be asking "what will you do for me?" They should be asking "what will you do for us, all of us?"
Education: A properly funded education system will help ensure success among Iowa's youth who will help drive Iowa's economy. Iowa's education funding has declined. Legislators need to show that prioritizing education is key to a prosperous future for Iowa.
Taxes: Iowa taxes have become regressive. The amount of taxes a citizen or organization pays should reflect what they are able to pay. Legislators needs to come together to recommend changes to Iowa's tax laws to make the cost more equitable for all. Once fair shares are being paid, resources can be used to address needs like education, Medicaid, waterways, transportation, and rural broadband.
I would say I was influenced by the show The West Wing on how government should work, granted, that's at the executive level of the federal government. _The Daily Show with Jon Stewart_ and Steven Colbert's _The Colbert Report_ helped to shape my stances on issues while in college. Now I listen to a number of podcasts to listen to the news and get insights about it from some neutral but mostly like-minded people, podcasts such as _The Daily_, _What A Day_, _Pod Save America_, _Wordly_, _Intelligence Matters_, _The Argument_, and _Political Gabfest_, to name some.
I tend to be very easy going with a pretty calm demeanor. When things get hectic, I am able to stay calm and get through it. If issues arise at work, I pretty good at solving whatever the problem may be. I would say that I can think outside the box and be innovative. And I am a hard worker who isn't afraid to put in the hours to get something done.
Someone elected to be the senator for Iowa Senate District 48 needs to be a voice for the district in Des Moines. This person needs to be engaged with the members of the district and have open lines of communication with them to hear where they stand on the issues. There will be differing viewpoints, so the senator must navigate that carefully, but knowing that he/she was elected based on stances on the issues. Then, the senator must also inform the district residence when it being done on their behalf in Des Moines, which way their senator votes and why.
My first job was basically a janitor at a lumber company. I would go into the sawmill after school, once most of the day workers were finished and start cleaning up. It certainly was a dirty job. During the summer, I was able to come in earlier to help out wherever they needed me until it was time to clean up. I worked there for almost a year. Afterwards, I began working at Happy Joe's where some friends of mine were working.
Ha, so I don't know if there's one that has gotten stuck in my head recently, but there is one that pops into my head now and then when there's a certain amount of stress at work when I'm busting my butt to get something done. I don't even know all of the words to it (and I am ok with that), but the lyrics that I know go "life is a breeze. We live it for fun. No apologies to anyone." Now if you're thinking that is from the Pipi Longstocking movie, you would be right. I probably haven't seen the movie in 10-20 years, but for whatever reason, that portion of the song stuck in my head. And it just kind of calms me down a bit, centers me, and lets me know to have fun with what I'm doing.
I can have trouble delegating and asking for help. While those are issues that I try to deal with, I sometimes need a reminder about it. Take this campaign of mine for instance. There is no way I would have been able to get as much done as I have without the help of my team. Some keep asking what they can do to help more with, and that is not something I am used to, but I am getting more comfortable with it. Because of my rising comfort level with it, I am noticing it at work too.
I do not think that it is necessary. I think that it's important to have some legislators in office who have experience, who know the norms and the inner workings of the legislature. However, I think it is important to get new people with new ideas and new ways of looking at issues into the political system. Term limits should be put in place to help ensure that this is possible. If someone reaches the end of their term limit and would like to try a different chamber or even a different role in government, by all means, they should give it a try. But new people need to be elected into the legislature periodically to make sure complacency doesn't set it.
Definite, that is important. In order to get anything accomplished, a legislator will have to form relationships with other legislators in the chamber in order to get anything accomplished. You may be able to come up with an idea on your own, but when you need 25 other members to vote on it with you, you will have to work with them to make it appealing to that many others.
Redistricting should be a non-partisan process. Then current process that Iowa uses seems fair as two committee members are chosen by one part, two are chosen by the other party, and one is chosen by both. A process like this helps to prevent gerrymandering, something that we have seen done in many other states. The map should be drawn as fair as possible, regardless of which party controls the government.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 19, 2020
Current members of the Iowa State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Amy Sinclair
Minority Leader:Janice Weiner
Senators
District 1
Vacant
District 2
Jeff Taylor (R)
District 3
Lynn Evans (R)
District 4
Tim Kraayenbrink (R)
District 5
Dave Rowley (R)
District 6
Jason Schultz (R)
District 7
Kevin Alons (R)
District 8
Mark Costello (R)
District 9
Tom Shipley (R)
District 10
Dan Dawson (R)
District 11
Julian Garrett (R)
District 12
Amy Sinclair (R)
District 13
District 14
District 15
Tony Bisignano (D)
District 16
Claire Celsi (D)
District 17
Izaah Knox (D)
District 18
Janet Petersen (D)
District 19
Ken Rozenboom (R)
District 20
Mike Pike (R)
District 21
Mike Bousselot (R)
District 22
Matt Blake (D)
District 23
Jack Whitver (R)
District 24
Jesse Green (R)
District 25
Herman Quirmbach (D)
District 26
Kara Warme (R)
District 27
Annette Sweeney (R)
District 28
Dennis Guth (R)
District 29
Sandy Salmon (R)
District 30
Doug Campbell (R)
District 31
William Dotzler (D)
District 32
Michael Klimesh (R)
District 33
Carrie Koelker (R)
District 34
Dan Zumbach (R)
District 35
Mike Zimmer (D)
District 36
Thomas Townsend (D)
District 37
Molly Donahue (D)
District 38
Dave Sires (R)
District 39
Liz Bennett (D)
District 40
Art Staed (D)
District 41
Kerry Gruenhagen (R)
District 42
District 43
Zach Wahls (D)
District 44
Adrian Dickey (R)
District 45
Janice Weiner (D)
District 46
Dawn Driscoll (R)
District 47
Scott Webster (R)
District 48
Mark Lofgren (R)
District 49
Cindy Winckler (D)
District 50
Jeffrey Reichman (R)
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (16)
Vacancies (1)
