| Date Span: | 1974-2001 |
| Creator: | Szymoniak, Elaine (1920-2009) |
| Extent: | 4.20 linear feet. |
| Collection Number: | IWA0166 |
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Summary: | Iowa State senator, Des Moines City Council member, and hearing and speech consultant. |
Elaine Szymoniak, an Iowa state senator, former Des Moines City Council member and retired hearing and speech consultant, was born on May 24, 1920 to Hugo and Pauline Eisfelder in Boscobel, Wisconsin. In 1941, Szymoniak earned a bachelor's degree in education and speech pathology from the University of Wisconsin. She married Casimir (Chuck) D. Szymoniak in 1943: they reared five children together.
Szymoniak's degree and the deafness of both her parents led her to a career in speech therapy and later in rehabilitation. In the 1950s, after Chuck Szymoniak's discharge from the armed forces, the family moved to Des Moines, Iowa. In 1977 Szymoniak earned a master's degree in family environment, commuting to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She worked both part and full time as a hearing and speech consultant at the Iowa Department of Public Instruction for twenty-one years before her first campaign for public office.
Szymoniak won the election in 1977 for first ward city council member in Des Moines on her first attempt by defeating twelve-year incumbent Wallace Buss. At the time of her election, Szymoniak was the only female member of the city council. She unsuccessfully campaigned to become the mayor of Des Moines in 1979 and again in 1987. Following eleven consecutive years on the Des Moines City Council, Szymoniak set her goals on a different political office.
In the Iowa State Senate, Szymoniak has represented both the forty-second and thirty-sixth districts. Szymoniak's main areas of concern while serving in public office have been in health, education and human resources. This is reflected in the committees she has served on in the senate: Appropriations Committee on Human Services (vice-chair), Education, Human Resources (chair), Judiciary, Local Government and the Ways and Means Committee.
While acknowledging anguish on the issue, Szymoniak, a devout Roman Catholic, believes that abortion is a matter that should be left up to the conscience of the individual woman. A parental notification bill on abortion passed in the House of Representatives in 1994 and Szymoniak kept the bill in committee once it reached the Senate. A few lauded her for political savvy but most criticized the move as an attempt of three committee members to forestall legislation by denying the Senate an opportunity to vote for or against the bill. A 1992 Des Moines Register editorial endorsing her re-election summed up Szymoniak's political service: "Szymoniak has been an extremely hardworking, dedicated and conscientious lawmaker who is regarded at the Statehouse as one of the more effective legislators.
Access: The papers are open for research.
Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.
Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 241) were donated by Elaine Szymoniak in 1994 and 1999.
Preferred Citation: Elaine Szymoniak papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Address: | 100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242 |
| Phone: | 319-335-5068 |
| Curator: | Kären Mason |
| Email: | lib-women@uiowa.edu |
| Website: | http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa |
Browse by Series:
Series 1: AUDIOLOGY AND SPEECH PATHOLOGY
Series 2: DES MOINES CITY COUNCIL
Series 3: POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
Series 4: IOWA STATE SENATE
Series 5: PERSONAL
This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.
