Ryan farmer also planning Senate 48 campaign

The outcome of a special election in Linn County won't alter Ryan farmer Dan Zumbach's plans to run for the Iowa Senate.

About half of Iowa Senate 18 - where Democrat Liz Mathis won a Nov. 8 election to fill a vacancy - will be in a new district, Senate 48, when new legislative boundaries take effect in 2012.

“I look at Senate 18 as a separate entity,” Zumbach said when asked about Mathis' 56 percent to 44 percent victory over Republican Cindy Golding. “My plans are the same as they have been.”

Zumbach, 51, a grain farmer who also hauls grain and sells farm equipment, said he's been meeting with voters across the district that covers all of Delaware County, the northern part of Linn County, four precincts in Buchanan and part of Jones County, including the towns of Monticello and Anamosa.

“They want to see the size of the state budget be reduced, remove burdensome business regulations, and work to improve and enhance our education system,” he said.

A lifelong resident of the district, Zumbach has served on the school board at West Delaware in Manchester, his alma mater, as well as other community organizations.

“I look at the communities and I just feel I have the ability to represent these people well,” Zumbach said.

He's a fiscal conservative and understands “the importance of working within our means,” Zumbach said.

“We must allow more creativity in the process so we can spend smarter and more efficiently,” he said. “Iowans are intelligent and creative people.  We need to get back to work together again to provide real solutions which every Iowan will feel in each of their lives.”

Democrat Rep. Nate Willems of Lisbon plans to run for the Senate 48 seat. Brian Cook, a Manchester insurance salesman, have announced plans to seek the GOP nomination. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Golding also is considering running in the new district.

Zumbach and his wife, Michele, have four children. He has served several terms on Peace Lutheran Church in Ryan church council. He's a 4-H leader and also an official for the Iowa High School Athletic Association.