A Closer Look: John Norris

Partner and co-owner, State Public Policy Group

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John Norris has been a political operative in Iowa and Washington, D.C., for decades. An aide to Tom Vilsack both in the governor’s office and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the nation’s capital, he also served on the Iowa Utilities Board and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in D.C. He also worked as an ambassador of sorts for U.S. food and agriculture interests in Rome. 

Now, Norris, a native of Red Oak, has returned to Des Moines as co-owner and partner in State Public Policy Group, which he and Bradley Knott bought from longtime owner Tom Slater.

Norris and his wife, Jackie, who was named CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa, wanted their three sons to grow up in Iowa. They bought a house once occupied by Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson and her husband, author James Autry, in the Waterbury neighborhood in western Des Moines.

We talked to Norris about his re-entry.

Was the Rome assignment an outgrowth of your work with Secretary Vilsack?
Yes. When I was his chief of staff my first year in D.C. I was responsible for filling that position (in Rome). I was always intrigued by it. It became open later. I discussed it with Secretary Vilsack, and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Rome.

What was involved with that job? 
The United Nations has its food and agricultural-based agencies based in Rome. My primary work was with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. I represented U.S. ag policies to those United Nations agencies. For the World Food Programme it was largely the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) school feeding program. We give a fair amount of money to finance the school lunch program in developing countries. I also worked on safety standards for food. 

It seemed as though you were like an ambassador, right?
There was a lot of diplomatic function to the work. I built coalitions to advance some mutually beneficial policies. I worked a lot with Canada, New Zealand, some Latin American countries. It was trying to find like interests, and advancing policies. What I learned is that working in that U.N. environment takes a great deal of patience because it is all consensus decision-making. So if you have to get 160 or 170 countries to all agree to something, change takes a long time. 

Are you wired for that type of patience?
No. It was interesting, and I think some background in politics helped to understand the value of building coalitions, but anything major was a 10-plus-year time frame. So you looked to move the ball a little bit. For example, there was a lot of discussion on antimicrobial resistance and a real lack of consensus on how to address it (including the use of antibiotics in livestock feed). We recognized that there needs to be a solution that doesn’t send our whole agriculture industry into a tailspin, while recognizing the growing scientific evidence that (resistance and the threat of weakening the effectiveness of human antibiotics) is an issue.

Had you thought about the prospect of being appointed to a prominent position in D.C. when you left Rome?
Yes. I had enough experience in both the state and federal government both in policymaking and politics that I could have pursued opportunities in Washington. I also had opportunities in the private sector, particularly a major nongovernmental organization. 

But Jackie and I decided we both wanted to have the boys finish school and grow up in Iowa. We wanted Iowa to be a place they called home, and we called home. In Des Moines and Iowa, you can really feel that your efforts make a difference. 

What does State Public Policy Group do?
We take problems or objectives or goals that people have that in most cases interface with local, state or federal government and help them navigate their interactions, their policy development, grant applications, program design. We help them seek policy changes they are seeking, whether that is a nongovernmental organization or a private company. We plan, design and develop after-school programs. We are involved in STEM quite extensively. We have a project to help address economic opportunity for minorities.We are reviewing business practices to help streamline businesses that work with the secretary of state’s office to make it more business-friendly and efficient. We do policy work. We problem-solve and help them and identify a path forward.

 

 

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