| While owner of Zaun's Trustworthy Hardware, Brad was always active in the community and took advantage of the opportunities afforded to him. One such opportunity was being elected president of the local chamber of commerce. There Brad learned the issues he was facing as a business leader were not unique but were shared by nearly all of the business community.
Before long, with the encouragement of many members of the chamber and other good friends, Brad ran for and was elected to the Urbandale City Council. While on the council he soon saw improvements he knew needed to be made, so with a specific plan to streamline the city government, Brad ran for mayor. That plan was built on the life lessons of leading a business, of making the best with what you have and turning obstacles into opportunities. On that platform the people of Urbandale chose to elect Brad Zaun as their mayor.
During his tenure as mayor, Urbandale experienced unprecedented commercial and residential growth, and during that same time the city was able to create some of the best metro area amenities and achieved the highest national quality of life rankings of any city in Iowa. Urbandale enjoyed record growth all the while recognized as having the lowest taxes in the metropolitan area. During those years as mayor of Urbandale, Brad was able to turn a vision into reality with a practical workable plan.
Next, Brad took his plan of streamlined government and fiscal responsibility to the Iowa State Capitol when he was elected State Senator from NW Des Moines and Urbandale. While serving in the minority party is challenging enough, it is particularly daunting when the majority party is spending like there is no tomorrow!
Brad began to work hard to build consensus and successfully sponsor bills and programs to expand educational access for all Iowans, to significantly toughen Iowa laws against illegal drugs, and to measurably reduce bureaucracy and tax burdens on Iowa's farmers, small business owners and senior citizens.
Despite being in the minority, Brad consistently pushed for greater state government fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget. Brad is a former Republican Whip and assistant leader. |