Take a leave of absence and run for public office
Prior to becoming Auditor & Commissioner of
Elections, I was employed by a private sector firm. After I was elected and before taking the
oath of office, I applied for a leave of absence under the provisions of
Chapter 55. I’m guessing a number of Iowa’s legislators do
the same, i.e., take leaves of absence from their employers in order to serve
in the Legislature.
Chapter 55 of the Iowa Code allows employees to take
leaves of absence for a period not to exceed six (6) years. One of the stipulations is that the
employee’s employer must employ at least twenty (20) or more full-time
employees. Click here to review Chapter 55.
I think the legislative intent of Chapter 55 is to
encourage full-time employees to seek elective office, to volunteer for
emergency service, and to serve on boards, commissions, task forces, and
committees.
In general, Iowans dislike the concept of full-time, professional politicians, which likely explains why the majority of elected officials with legislative duties (school board members, city council members, state legislators, and county supervisors) are part-time positions receiving part-time pay. The annual compensation of Iowa's state legislators is $25,000. The annual compensation of school board members is zilch.
With the exception of state legislators, most part-time elected offices would not require you to take a leave of absence. Technically, some full-time elected offices may not require you to take a leave of absence, but not taking a leave of absence would likely not be ethical and would likely not be practical if you planned to seek re-election to your elected office.
Have you ever considered running for an elected
office? Please consider taking my survey at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB227E4PGT2HT I am interested in your comments.
--Joel @ 10:20pm