Longest-serving woman in House to retire

DES MOINES – The longest serving woman in the Iowa House will not seek re-election.

Rep. Dolores Mertz, D-Otteson, who has served 22 years in the House, told the Democratic caucus Tuesday morning she will retire.

“It's time I go do something for myself,” said Mertz, a farmer who served five years as a Kossuth County Supervisors before being elected to the House.

She's been a member of the House Ag Committee for her entire tenure, including the past four years as chairwoman. Mertz believes she is the first woman to chair the Ag Committee in either chamber.

Mertz, who has sat in the front row of the House chamber for 22 years – the last 18 in the same spot, said she always had a passion for government and a passion for agriculture.

“It's the foundation of Iowa's economy,” she said. “It's been a great honor to do things that I thought were good for agriculture.”

She also proposed a community foundation plan that called for counties with gaming facilities to share a part of those revenues with counties that do not host casinos. The success of a casino, Mertz said, relies on the neighboring counties, too.

Algona Republican Stephen Richards has filed his nomination papers to run for Mertz's House 9 seat. Mertz expects Democrats to field a candidate.