Army veteran John Thompson of Greene County announced May 26 that he will be seeking the Republican nomination for treasurer of the state of Iowa at the GOP state convention Saturday, June 14.
Thompson, a West Point graduate, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He also completed a master’s of public administration degree focusing on capital markets and legislative policy at the John F. Kennnedy School of Government at Harvard University.
After serving 17 years in the Army, Thompson returned to his farm in Iowa to begin a program that assisted future soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and to recruit for the service academies.
Thompson’s parents,Charlie and the late Karyl Thompson, were farmers. Charlie Thompson, a pastor, encouraged his six children to pursue public service. All six of them joined the Army.
John Thompson said, “Our state pensions have unfounded liabilities of over $6 billion. That amount has doubled since 2008. If we continue to kick the can down the road we will break the banks of our children. Social Security and Obamacare are already forcing the younger generations to pay for their parents. We can’t add this pension gap problem. Today, college graduates are having difficulty finding jobs that can pay off their student loans. As parents, we work hard to ensure our children have better opportunities than us. I want to leave my son Ryker with opportunities; not debt.
“Our government is full of politicians. It should be full of leaders. Iowa deserves a leader who has the character and courage to deal with this now. We need to fix this debt instead of hiding from it. We need to take care of both our state employees and our children. Please write me in for Treasurer of State on the primary ballot and support me at the State Convention.”
Note- “John Thompson was honorably discharged form the U.S. Army. use of his military rank, job titles and pictures in uniform does not imply endorsement from the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.”
