Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge says Governor Chet Culver has asked her to manage the state’s emergency management plans. "The events of 9/11 five years ago in New York and Washington, D.C. changed forever the way we think about our security and the way we respond to threats whether caused by human or nature," Judge says. "For the past five years I have been closely involved in emergency planning for the state and on a national basis for the security of our food supplies.
Governor Culver has asked me to continue that work and to take an active role in homeland security and emergency management." The Iowa National Guard and the state’s emergency management division collaborate on plans for dealing with man-made and natural disasters. "We will make certain that we are ready to respond to any emergency or threat to citizens of the State of Iowa," Judge says.
Judge is the third woman to be elected lieutenant governor as the governor’s running mate. Over a decade ago the state constitution was changed so that the job of lieutenant governor no longer was elected separately and the lieutenant governor no longer presides over the state senate. Instead, starting in 1992, lieutenant governors became the runningmate of the governor in the same way the president picks a vice presidential runningmate.