Former state Sen. Chris Cournoyer is officially Iowa’s newest lieutenant governor.
Cournoyer, a Republican from LeClaire, is a former lawmaker, school board member and reserve sheriff’s deputy, who has a background in computer science.
At her swearing in ceremony Monday, Cournoyer called it “humbling” to take on the job as lieutenant governor.
“Iowans can be confident that I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves,” she said.
More: Gov. Kim Reynolds names state Sen. Chris Cournoyer as next lieutenant governor of Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynolds named Cournoyer to the job after former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg resigned in September to become president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association.
Here’s what to know about the new lieutenant governor.
Chris Cournoyer was elected twice to the Iowa Senate
Cournoyer was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and reelected to a second four-year term in 2022.
She represented Iowa Senate District 35, which includes Clinton County and parts of Scott and Jackson counties, including Clinton, Camanche, DeWitt, Maquoketa and LeClaire.
Cournoyer resigned her Iowa Senate seat “effective immediately” Monday morning before swearing the oath of office as lieutenant governor.
Reynolds will need to call a special election to select her replacement in the Iowa Senate, where Republicans hold a 34-15 supermajority.
The governor has not set a date for that special election.
Cournoyer has a background in technology and computer science
She chaired the Senate Technology Committee and has experience in computer science.
Cournoyer holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas and runs a website design business. She also worked as a senior consultant in the technology division at Andersen Consulting, which is now Accenture, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
She also is a member of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and a former member of the Quad City Engineering and Science Council.
Reynolds highlighted that background in her speech Monday announcing Cournoyer as her pick for lieutenant governor.
“It’s exciting to think about all of the ways that we can utilize Chris’ experience in her new role,” Reynolds said. “Here’s a working mother who has known the joys and challenges of raising children while being in the workforce and owning a business, a computer science major who was thinking about optimizing computers for user experience in the late 90s, and a woman who then went on to drive innovation her entire working life.”
Cournoyer helped lead Reynolds’ efforts to shrink state government
She was the vice chair of the Senate State Government Committee, where she helped lead Reynolds’ effort to reorganize and consolidate state government and Iowa’s hundreds of state boards and commissions.
She took the lead in the Senate on a law Reynolds signed this year eliminating dozens of state boards and commissions. And she served as a member of a new board created by that law: The State Government Efficiency Review Committee.
Chris Cournoyer speaks after being sworn in as Gov. Kim Reynolds’ next lieutenant governor on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.
She also spoke in Reynolds’ office this year at the bill signing for a law that eliminated the requirement that Iowa boards and commissions have a balance of men and women serving on them. At the signing, she said there are more women serving in a range of careers than ever before.
Reynolds praised Cournoyer’s role in helping her reorganize state government.
“I’m excited about today’s announcement because it advances my goal of becoming … more efficient in how we deliver services to Iowans while also providing the best possible value for taxpayers,” Reynolds said Monday. “Even after implementing alignment, which Chris worked on as the vice chair of the Senate state government committee, significant opportunities still exist to find efficiencies through technology. Here too, her expertise, especially in AI, will be invaluable.”
A former reserve sheriff deputy with the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Cournoyer also served on the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council.
Cournoyer served on the Pleasant Valley School Board
She served for five years on the Pleasant Valley School Board, including a stint as its president.
She is also a substitute teacher and works with students as a robotics and coding teacher.
In the Senate, Cournoyer served on the Education Committee and was chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which handles the budget for K-12 and higher education in Iowa.
And she was a member of the Area Education Agency Task Force, which was charged with examining the impact of a law Reynolds signed this year reorganizing the AEAs’ responsibilities and funding.
“As a school board president and active substitute teacher in my district, I personally witnessed how STEM and work-based learning can bring concepts alive for students and set them on a path for long-term success,” Cournoyer said Monday. “Taken together, my experience has repeatedly taught me the amazing potential of technology to transform legacy systems, grow Iowa’s economy and empower students. This vision has always been at the heart of Governor Reynolds’ agenda, and I couldn’t be more excited to join her team and do my part to implement it on behalf of Iowans.”
Cournoyer was a Nikki Haley endorser
She was one of the first prominent Iowans to endorse Nikki Haley when the former United Nations ambassador announced her campaign for president last year.
She served as Iowa State Chair for Haley’s campaign ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in January and campaigned around the state for Haley, calling her “a champion for the next generation.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet Chris Cournoyer, the new Iowa lieutenant governor
