Path to Power
Vilsack was born Dec. 13, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he was abandoned at a Roman Catholic orphanage a few days after his birth. In 1951 he was adopted by a local couple, Bud and Dolly Vilsack. Tom attended Shady Side Academy, then went to Hamilton College in upstate New York, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history and met his wife, Christie Bell. Vilsack finished college in 1972 and received his law degree in 1975 from the Albany School of Law.
He moved with his wife to her hometown, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he worked as a trial lawyer in her father’s law practice. Vilsack became involved in public life in Mount Pleasant, and in 1978 he spearheaded fundraising for a new $750,000 sports facility.
In 1986, Mount Pleasant Mayor Edward King was murdered when a disgruntled resident opened fire during a City Council meeting. Many people, including the late mayor’s father, encouraged Vilsack to run for the open seat. He did so, and was elected in 1987. Five years later, Vilsack set his sights higher and was elected to the Iowa Senate by a slim margin. He worked on legislation that increased health-care coverage and benefits for workers. He was reelected in 1994.
In 1998, he was elected governor of Iowa, the first Democrat to hold that position in 32 years. He pledged to “focus on education, health care, the environment, a fair tax system, property-tax relief and keeping young people in Iowa,” according to the Des Moines Register. “While he delivered on some promises and failed on others, Iowa voters gave him a stamp of approval by electing him to a second term in 2002, and by electing another Democrat to replace him in 2006,” the Register reported.
Known as a political moderate, Vilsack rose quickly in the Democratic Party. He was named chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and chaired the Democratic Leadership Council. He was on Sen. John F. Kerry’s (D-Mass.) short-list as a possible running mate in 2004, according to the Des Moines Register.
Vilsack had pledged to serve only two terms as governor. With his second term near an end, he announced he was running for president in November 2006. “Vilsack took fairly liberal positions,” the Boston Globe reported, “calling for troops to get out of Iraq and come home,” and promoting an energy policy “that was among the more aggressive in getting the country off foreign sources of oil.” His campaign lasted for three months before he dropped out on February 23, 2007.
Vilsack then supported Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama's most significant Democratic rival. Vilsack was named co-chair of Clinton's national campaign, and Christie Vilsack was named co-chair of Clinton's Iowa campaign. When Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination, Vilsack campaigned for him in Midwestern battleground states.
As late as Nov. 24, 2008, Vilsack said he had not been contacted about the USDA job, but on Dec. 18 of that year, Obama nominated Vilsack. Now, Vilsack runs the vast U.S. Department of Agriculture, with a workforce of more than 105,000, a budget of more than $95 billion and authority to give billions in subsidies to farmers each year.
Vilsack was a partner at the law firm of Dorsey and Whitney LLP, and a distinguished fellow at Iowa State University’s Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products.
Christie Vilsack is founder and president of the Vilsack Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focusing on literacy, including new media literacy.
