Dick Leslie Dearden[1] (June 3, 1938 – November 2, 2019) was an American politician who was the Iowa State Senator from the 34th District. A Democrat, he served in the Iowa Senate from 1995 to 2017 representing the Northeast part of Des Moines and Pleasant Hill, Iowa.[2]

Dick L. Dearden
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 34th district
35th (1995–2003)
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 8, 2017
Preceded byFlorence Buhr
Succeeded byNate Boulton
Personal details
Born(1938-06-03)June 3, 1938
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 2019(2019-11-02) (aged 81)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSharon
Children3
WebsiteDearden's website

Education edit

Dearden graduated from Des Moines East High School.[2]

Career edit

Dearden served on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Appropriations committee; the Labor and Business Relations committee; the Rules and Administration committee; the State Government committee; the Ethics committee, where he is vice chair; and the Natural Resources committee, where he is chair. His prior political experience includes serving on the Polk County Central Committee since 1972, serving as Chairman of the Polk County Democrats from 1980 to 1982, and serving as a delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention.

Dearden was re-elected in 2008 with 17,704 votes, defeating Republican opponent Scott Strosahl.[3]

Personal life edit

Dearden was married to his wife Sharon since 1959 and together they had two sons, David and Mark, and one daughter, Pamela.[2]

Dearden was also a veteran of the National Guard.[2] He died on November 2, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa, at the age of 81.[4]

Organizations edit

Dearden was a member of the following organizations:

References edit

  1. ^ "Dick Dearden Obituary (1938 - 2019) - Des Moines, IA - the Des Moines Register". Legacy.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e "About Senator Dearden". Iowa Senate District 16. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-11-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Former Iowa state Sen. Dick Dearden dies, leaves legacy of service". Desmoinesregister.com. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-11-13.

External links edit

Iowa Senate
Preceded by 35th District
1995 – 2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by 34th District
2003 – 2017
Succeeded by