Politics is all around us. Whether we love it or hate it, it is an omnipresent factor that affects how we lead our lives, right down to whether we can use our phones in class. However, it is not often that we take time to truly look at how – and by whom – these critical decisions are being made. Our two direct representatives at the state level are Tom Shipley and Tom Moore. Let’s take a look at the processes that they go through to create laws and who they are.

The lawmaking body of the state government is called the legislature. The legislature is divided into two chambers or “houses”, the House and the Senate. Both houses have representatives based on population, with the House having one representative per ~29,300 people and the Senate having one representative per ~58,500. This allows for more even representation of the Iowan population. 

It is our legislators’ or representatives’ job to write, debate, and pass bills, which are laws in the making. When these bills are first written, they come under the consideration of a committee. Once a committee approves them, they get sent to either the House or the Senate. A vote is held, and if the bill is passed, it goes to the opposite chamber for consideration. Once both chambers approve it, and it is signed by the Governor, it becomes law.

In the Senate, Atlantic falls in district nine, which means we are in the representation of Tom Shipley. Born in Adams County in 1953, he attended and graduated from Villisca High School in 1971. He graduated from Iowa Western Community College in 1973 and then from Iowa State University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture education. He briefly taught agriculture at Fremont Mills High School, but went on to work for multiple ag and food production companies. Shipley has one daughter, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. Shipley was on the Villisca School Board for 18 years and served on Villisca’s volunteer ambulance service for 22 years. He is active as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and choir member for the First Presbyterian Church. Shipley now operates a small farm in Nodaway.

Shipley has announced he will not be running for Senate again and has endorsed the Senate candidate Steve Baier to take his spot.

First elected in 2015, Shipley has represented much of southwest Iowa in the Senate since. Shipley is a member of the Republican Party. Shipley is the vice chair of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee. The other committees he serves on are Agriculture, Appropriations, Education, Judiciary, and Transportation.

Thomas Jay “Tom” Moore is Atlantic’s representative in the House as the elected representative for District 18. Moore was born in 1952 in Grinnell. He graduated from Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools, then attended college at Westmar University, graduating in 1974. Moore went on to Northwest Missouri State University and graduated with a Master’s in physical education. Moore was a K-12 P.E. and History teacher at Griswold and Grinnell-Newburg for 33 years and coached football, wrestling, golf, and softball. Aside from teaching, Moore was also an assistant manager of Southwest Iowa Egg. Moore was inducted into the IHSSA Officials Hall of Fame in 2009 for officiating wrestling and softball. He is an avid gardener. Moore resides in Griswold with his wife. They have had two daughters, one son, and six grandchildren.

Moore was also elected in 2015 and has represented Cass and parts of Montgomery and Page counties during his time in office. As the Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee, Moore helps oversee issues such as Medicaid and other welfare items. Moore is active on the committees for Economic Growth and Technology, Education, and the Labor and Workforce Committee. 

Moore said “Some of the biggest challenges I have had are when I have had to vote what I believe my constituents want but that takes me away from the party.”

Moore claimed that he chose to be a representative because it had “always been on my bucket list.” His goal as a representative to support education is to “always seek appropriate funding,  I will support local control on most issues, and resist unnecessary and burdensome mandates.”