Dolores Mary Mertz (née Shay; May 30, 1928 – October 18, 2022) was an American politician from Iowa.
Dolores Mertz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 8th district 15th (1989–2003)[1] | |
| In office January 1989 – January 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Marcella Frevert |
| Succeeded by | Tom W. Shaw[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dolores Mary Shay May 30, 1928 Bancroft, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | October 18, 2022 (aged 94) West Bend, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
Born in Bancroft, Iowa to John and Gertrude (née Erickson) Shay, she earned her AA from Briar Cliff College (now Briar Cliff University).[3] She married Pete Mertz in 1951, and following his death in 1983, she was appointed to the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors to fill the remainder of his term.[4]
She served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1989 through 2011, representing the 15th district from 1989 to 2003 and the 8th district from 2003 to 2011.[3] Mertz served on several committees in the Iowa House – the Judiciary committee; the Natural Resources committee; the Transportation committee; and the Agriculture committee, where she is chair. She also serves on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. Her political experience includes twenty-five years as Democrat precinct leader and 13 years on the Kossuth County Central Committee.[3] Mertz was re-elected in 2006 with 8,142 votes, running unopposed.
She also served as co-chairperson on the board of directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national association of legislators.[5] In 2012, Governor Terry Branstad appointed Mertz to serve on the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.[6]
Mertz died on October 18, 2022, at West Bend Health and Rehabilitation in West Bend, Iowa.[6][4]
References
edit- ^ "Iowa Legislature - Historical Information". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ "Iowa Legislature - Historical Information". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ a b c "State Representative". 26 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Dolores M. Mertz". Oakcrest Funeral Services.
- ^ "Board of Directors - American Legislative Exchange Council". www.alec.org.
- ^ a b "Former state Rep. Mertz dies". The Messenger. Fort Dodge, Iowa. October 20, 2022.
External links
edit- Financial information (state office) at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN
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