Eddie Andrews (politician)
Eddie Andrews | |
|---|---|
 Andrews in 2021 | |
| Member of the Iowa House of Representatives from the 43rd district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Karin Derry |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Iowa |
| Occupation | Politician |
Eddie Andrews; born Edgar Lee Andrews; (born May 31, 1966) is an American politician serving as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives for the 43rd district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office in 2021. He was re-elected in 2022.
Personal life[edit]
Andrews lives in Johnston, Iowa and attended the University of Iowa where he obtained an undergraduate degree. Andrews works in tech.[1][2][3] Andrews is married to Betty Andrews who, as of 2023, serves as the Director of the NAACP Chapter for Iowa and Nebraska. They have two daughters, and a son who passed away. They also partially raised their niece, living most of her teens in their home, and have helped raise others in their home, getting some off the streets and redirecting their lives.
Eddie Andrews has always had a heart for the less fortunate in his community and was an effective leader. He was student government president at East High. As a youth, he organized free neighborhood cleanups, lawn mowing and snow removal for senior citizens.
He went to the University of Iowa, receiving his first degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He added religious education to his engineering management studies.
After working for MidAmerican Energy, he started a company dotNow in 1998 that grew to 1.4 miilion users, and due to his knack for listening to customers, was the #1 customer service rated small regional tech business for two years in a row. After he sold it after year 3, an investor group stole money. Even though Andrews had sold the company prior to this, he was named in an investigation, and cleared after the Iowa Attorney General acknowledged they had tapes of the perpetrators for, and they issued an apology to Andrews. Unfortunately they took a financial hit and had to start over financially. [4]
In 2005, Andrews started Des Moines Spanish Conversation Group a fun, person-to-person social way to learn Spanish with three rules: (1) no English for an hour, (2) you have to talk, and (3) you have to have fun. He turned over leadership after being too active in other causes, but the group still continues today.
Andrews also founded #mentoromics, a free invite-only tech entrepreneurial group to teach youth how to code. It initially focused on challenged youth, but after hearing from parents, it expanded. The youth create their own projects, and any dollars received from the apps are the students only. Projects range from mobile iPhone or Android apps, Alexa skills (Alexa, open Amazing Black Facts).. Prior to the pandemic, Des Moines Public Schools, after noting how the student grades increase after this program, met with Andrews twice to consider adding something like this to their curriculum.
Iowa House of Representatives[edit]
Mental health has been a personal motivating factor for Eddie's legislative service. After a family tragedy in 2019, he decided to throw his positive efforts to address mental health issues from inside the Capitol.
Eddie Andrews was elected to the Iowa House November 3, 2020, defeating incumbent Democrat Karin Derry. During the campaign, Andrews opponents attempted to create a "controversy" after he attended an outdoors event which unbeknownst to him was next to a car enthusiast garage that included the "General Lee" car from the Dukes of Hazard show which we know from childhood days featured the Confederate flag.[5] It's silly to imply that the Black guy wanted the South to have won the Civil War, and the controversy went nowhere.
In his first year in office, Andrews co-founded the bipartisan Taiwan Friendship Caucus. The following year the governor signed a $2.6 billion direct trade agreement with Taiwan.
As a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, Andrews sits on the House Commerce Committee, Public Safety Committee, and the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Additionally, he serves as the Vice Chair for the Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations.[1][2][3] Andrews has been reprimanded and fined by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board for violations of Iowa's campaign finance disclosure laws.[6]
2020 Election[edit]
While running in the 2020 election, Andrews highlighted "family safety, education, low taxes and creation of entrepreneur zones to help mom and pop small businesses", but also stressed that mental health issues would be his top priority.[7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eddie Andrews | 12,455 | 50.8 | |
| Democratic | Karin Derry | 12,040 | 49.1 | |
| N/A | Other/Write-in Candidates | 24 | .1 | |
| Total votes | 24,519 | 100.0 | ||
2021 Session[edit]
Andrews ran legislation that would ban spousal-consent requirements for women who are seeking a hysterectomy.[9][10] On issues of policing, Andrews initially joined democrats in voting against the "Back the Blue" bill, which created protections for police officers and punishments for protest-related offenses. He later joined republicans in voting for the bill after the legislation returned from the Senate and was amended.[11][12][13] Andrews also pushed a parental rights bill, which would codify parental rights and protections for those rights. The legislation passed the House unanimously, but did not receive a vote in the Senate.[10][14][15]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Eddie Andrews". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
- ^ a b "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ a b "State Representative". www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "Justia, State of Iowa v. Edgar Andrews and DotNow.Com, Inc., Iowa Court of Appeals (2006)".
- ^ "Eddie Andrews Celebrated Trump Under Confederate Flag". iowastartingline.com. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ Belin, Laura (2023-04-12). "Ethics board fines, reprimands Eddie Andrews again". Bleeding Heartland. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ Opsahl, Robin. "Iowa Elections: Meet the candidates running for Iowa House District 39". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Mohmand, Amber. "Election 2020: Republican Andrews leads Democratic incumbent Derry in Iowa House District 39". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Richardson, Ian. "Should a woman need her husband's consent for a hysterectomy? Iowa House pushes to ban doctors from requiring it". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ a b "Iowa Legislature - Find a Bill by Sponsor or Floor Manager". www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Iowa Legislature (2021-04-14). "STATE OF IOWA House Journal" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Iowa Legislature (2020-05-18). "STATE OF IOWA House Journal" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Richardson, Stephen Gruber-Miller and Ian. "Iowa House votes to increase penalties for protest-related crimes, broaden immunity for police". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ "Iowa Legislature - BillBook". www.legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Hart, Shane Vander. "Iowa House Unanimously Passes Parental Rights Bill | The Iowa Torch". iowatorch.com/. Retrieved 2021-08-13.