PRESS RELEASE from Pawlenty for President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2011
Contacts: Alex Conant
Eric
Woolson
Kurtenbach
Steps Down from RPI Post to Endorse
Pawlenty, Serve as an Iowa Campaign Co-Chair
URBANDALE
– Former state representative Jim Kurtenbach
of Ames has stepped down as co-chair of the Republican Party of Iowa to
endorse former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential bid and
become a state campaign co-chair.
“I
feel very strongly that Governor Pawlenty is the right leader for our
country,” Kurtenbach
said today. “I know it’s an unusual step to resign as party
co-chairman, but I want to be very actively involved in supporting Tim
Pawlenty because the stakes are so very high in the coming election.”
Kurtenbach,
who
served two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives, was elected
RPI co-chair in January 2009 and re-elected earlier this
year. An
expert
in the field of financial accounting with extensive experience
in information systems, he is the associate dean for administration at
the Iowa State University College of Engineering. In that role,
Kurtenbach guides the college’s information technology, distance
education, personnel, and financial operations.
Kurtenbach
is also an associate professor of accounting at Iowa State. In addition
to his experience as a faculty member, Kurtenbach
has served as chief financial officer for a materials and chemicals
company, managing its transition from an investor-supported
organization through sale to an international chemical company. He has
also served as the chief executive officer and board member for an
animation firm that specializes in scientifically accurate portrayals
for courtroom litigation and biotechnology applications, and held
officer positions in the construction industry.
“Governor
Pawlenty
has a conservative record of getting things done at the state
level by focusing on what’s important – a trait that President Obama
lacks,” Kurtenbach said. “Tim Pawlenty is a
solid conservative who has proven that he has a broad appeal to fiscal
and social conservatives, Tea Party activists and libertarians,
common-sense independents and Reagan Democrats. He can beat President
Obama, bring this country back together and get us going in the right
direction again.”
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