Editing Tom Vilsack (section)

==Governor of Iowa, 1999-2007==
In [[1998 Iowa gubernatorial election|1998]], [[Terry Branstad]] chose not to seek re-election after 16 years as governor. The Iowa Republican Party nominated [[Jim Ross Lightfoot]], a former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]]. Vilsack defeated former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick in the Democratic primary and chose [[Sally Pederson]] as his running mate. Lightfoot was the odds-on favorite to succeed Branstad and polls consistently showed him in the lead.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Geraghty|first1=Mary|title=Despite tight race for Iowa governor, Lightfoot ahead among most likely voters|url=http://www.news-releases.uiowa.edu/1998/november/1102heartland.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901153622/http://www.news-releases.uiowa.edu/1998/november/1102heartland.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 1, 2006|work=The University of Iowa: News Service|date=November 2, 1998}}</ref> However, Vilsack won the general election by 55,444 votes and became the first Democrat to serve as governor of Iowa in thirty years and only the fifth Democrat to hold the office in the 20th century.

During the 2000 contest for the Democratic presidential nomination between Vice President [[Al Gore]] and former U.S. Senator [[Bill Bradley]], he remained neutral.<ref>{{cite news|first=B. Drummond Jr.|last=Ayres|title=The 2002 Campaign: Campaign Briefing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/28/us/the-2000-campaign-campaign-briefing.html|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 28, 2000|archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527142056/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/28/us/the-2000-campaign-campaign-briefing.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[2002 Iowa gubernatorial election|2002]] he won his second term in office by defeating Republican challenger attorney Doug Gross by 83,837 votes.<ref>{{cite news|title=The 2002 Elections: Midwest, Iowa|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/07/us/the-2002-elections-midwest-iowa.html|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 7, 2002|archive-date=May 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527204116/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/07/us/the-2002-elections-midwest-iowa.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Tom Vilsack ChangeGov Press.jpg|thumb|left|Governor Tom Vilsack in 2008]]
In the first year of his second term, Vilsack used a [[line-item veto]], later ruled unconstitutional by the [[Iowa Supreme Court]], to create the Grow Iowa Values Fund, a $503{{spaces}}million appropriation designed to boost the Iowa economy by offering grants to corporations and initiatives pledged to create higher-income jobs. He vetoed portions of the bill that would have cut income taxes and eased business regulations. After a special session of the [[Iowa General Assembly]] on September 7, 2004, $100{{spaces}}million in state money was set aside to honor previously made commitments. The Grow Iowa Values Fund was reinstated at the end of the 2005 session: under the current law, $50{{spaces}}million per year will be set aside over the next ten years.

For most of Vilsack's tenure as governor, Republicans held effective majorities in the Iowa General Assembly. Following the November 2, 2004, elections, the fifty-member Senate was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and Republicans held a 51–49 majority in the House of Representatives.

In July 2005, Vilsack signed an executive order allowing all felons who had served their sentences to vote.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/EO/966206.pdf |title= Executive Order Number Forty-Two |date=July 4, 2005 |website=Iowa Legislature |access-date= February 29, 2024}}</ref> Approximately 115,000 felons regained their voting rights.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Rod|last=Boshart|title=Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs order restoring felon voting rights|url=https://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-signs-order-restoring-felon-voting-rights/article_cec6af1b-a0b5-5019-80f9-ae4b89f7c9e7.html|access-date=2020-08-05|website=[[The Quad-City Times]]|date=August 5, 2020 |language=en|archive-date=August 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807115015/https://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-signs-order-restoring-felon-voting-rights/article_cec6af1b-a0b5-5019-80f9-ae4b89f7c9e7.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He said: "When you've paid your debt to society, you need to be reconnected and re-engaged to society." Previously, convicted felons were disenfranchised, but could petition the governor to initiate a process, normally requiring six months, to restore their right to vote.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zernicke|first1=Kate|title=Iowa Governor Will Give Felons the Right to Vote|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/18/us/iowa-governor-will-give-felons-the-right-to-vote.html?_r=0|access-date=June 18, 2005|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 20, 2016|archive-date=December 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218021707/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/18/us/iowa-governor-will-give-felons-the-right-to-vote.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 2005 legislative session, Vilsack signed legislation designed to reduce [[methamphetamine]] use. It imposed greater restrictions on products containing the active ingredient [[pseudoephedrine]], requiring them to be sold behind [[pharmacy]] counters rather than via open-access. It required purchasers to show identification and sign a logbook. It took effect on May 21, 2005.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''[[Kelo v. City of New London]]'' in June 2005, Vilsack vetoed a bill to restrict Iowa's use of [[eminent domain]], citing its potential for negative impact on job creation. He said: "You have an interesting balance between job growth, which everybody supports, and restricting the power of government, which a lot of people support."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gearino|first1=Dan|last2=Dorman|first2=Todd|title=Vilsack vetoes eminent domain|url=http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/vilsack-vetoes-eminent-domain/article_cfcab8ad-a4e2-5787-a061-5b8350e6203b.html|access-date=July 20, 2016|work=[[Sioux City Journal]]|date=June 2, 2006|archive-date=September 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925055259/http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/vilsack-vetoes-eminent-domain/article_cfcab8ad-a4e2-5787-a061-5b8350e6203b.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His veto was overridden by the legislature.

Vilsack is a former member of the [[National Governors Association]] Executive Committee. He was chair of the [[Democratic Governors Association]] in 2004. He was also chair of the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, the Governors Ethanol Coalition, and the Midwest Governors Conference, and has also been chair and vice-chair of the National Governors Association's committee on Natural Resources, where he worked to develop the NGA's farm and energy policies.<ref>{{cite web|last=Longley|first=Robert|title=Tom Vilsack: Secretary of Agriculture|url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/tom_vilsack.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=September 5, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921210720/http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/tom_vilsack.htm|archive-date=September 21, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Vilsack was thought to be high on the list of [[2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection|potential running mates]] for Kerry in the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Halbfinger|first=David M.|date=2004-06-27|title=THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: THE NO. 2 SPOT; Iowa Governor Makes His Case for Stepping Into the National Limelight With Kerry|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/us/2004-campaign-no-2-spot-iowa-governor-makes-his-case-for-stepping-into-national.html|access-date=2021-10-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2005, Vilsack established Heartland PAC, a [[political action committee]] aimed at electing Democratic governors. In the first report, he raised over half a million dollars. Vilsack left office in 2007; he did not seek a third term and was succeeded by Secretary of State and fellow Democrat [[Chet Culver]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Beaumont |first=Thomas |title=Culver sails into victory |publisher=[[Des Moines Register]] |date=November 8, 2006 |url=http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061108/NEWS09/311080011|access-date=2006-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=November 11, 2006 |title=2006 General Election |url=http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/staff/offResultsGovLtGov.pdf|access-date=April 8, 2025 |website=Iowa Secretary of State|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221150426/http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/staff/offResultsGovLtGov.pdf |archive-date=February 21, 2007 }}</ref>