For Immediate Release:
PRESS RELEASE: Dr. Thomas Laehn Elected as Greene County Attorney, first Libertarian partisan office holder in Iowa.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa obtained its first victory in a race for a partisan elective office. On November 6, Dr. Thomas Laehn, Libertarian of Jefferson, was elected by the people of Greene County as their new County Attorney. Dr. Laehn will begin his four-year term on January 2nd.
Dr. Laehn grew up in Allison, Iowa, and graduated in 2000 from Allison-Bristow High School. He received his BA in political science and philosophy from Drake University. Dr. Laehn went on to earn an MA and PhD in Political Science from Louisiana State University. He taught American government and constitutional law for four years at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, before returning to Iowa to enroll in law school at the University of Iowa. He graduated law school and was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 2017. He has served as the Assistant Greene County Attorney since June 2017. He and his wife, Dr. Susan Laehn, had their first child, Sophia, this autumn.
Dr. Laehn explained that his decision to run as a Libertarian was based on his dissatisfaction with the two major parties: “Neither of the two legacy parties are addressing the issues about which I am the most concerned. Presidents of both parties are abusing their power, making laws unilaterally via executive orders without the participation of Congress. Congress has wholly abdicated its war-making power, allowing presidents of both parties to send our soldiers overseas without a formal declaration of war. And the Supreme Court has asserted that it, rather than the American people, is the ultimate expositor of our Constitution. Both parties have been complicit in the corruption of our Republic. I simply could not, in good conscience, run as a Republican or a Democrat.”
In 2018 the Libertarian Party had a record number of votes cast for Libertarian candidates and ran a record number of candidates. Nearly a dozen Libertarians are currently elected to county and city non-partisan offices and the party is concentrating on electing Libertarians to additional local offices in 2019. The Libertarian Party of Iowa has over 14,000 registered members and is the fastest growing political organization in Iowa.
For more information about Thomas Laehn or The Libertarian Party of Iowa, including photos to use in your publication, please contact us or visit:
Lpia.org
To schedule interviews or for more information please contact:
Joseph Howe
515-314-5809
josephhowe@lpia.org
