Jeff Shipley is a Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives. He represents District 82 which includes the cities of Fairfield (where he lives), Bloomfield, and Keosauqua. Jeff defeated the Democratic incumbent Phil Miller by 37 votes in the November 6, 2018, general election. Prior to this, Jeff was defeated 51.7% to 48.3% by Democratic incumbent Curt Hanson in the November 4, 2016, general election.
Jeff grew up in Naperville, Illinois. In 2006, he graduated from Naperville Central High School and went on to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in political science from the University of Iowa in 2010. During his time at the University of Iowa, Jeff served as a Student Government City Council Liaison. He also advocated against tax increases and on behalf of a variety of conservative causes on campus. Also during this time, Jeff was recognized by University of Iowa President Sally Mason as on Outstanding Student Leader.
After graduation, Jeff worked for the Mid-America Right to Work Committee in Iowa. This group assisted Republican candidates in being competitive and win in elections against Democrats funded by labor organizations. Before being elected to the US Congress in 2018, Jeff worked at one Iowa’s largest bankruptcy law firms, The Noyes Law Office. Here, he helped Iowa families cope with financial hardships and debt.
Decriminalizing Psychedelics
The Des Moines Register describes Jeff as “a Republican with a libertarian bent.” On his Twitter profile, Jeff has an emoji of a mushroom and describes himself as “Sauerkraut Salesman and Wiener Dog Racing Chairman” (he oversees the local Dachshund race every year). In his spare time, he is a stand-up comedian.
I’m doing what I told people I was going to do. The voters in my district, they’re going to give me a high-five.
One of the projects Jeff is currently working on is an effort to decriminalize psychedelic drugs for medicinal purposes in Iowa. To that end, he introduced a series of drug bills in the Iowa legislature earlier this year. One of them would allow the Iowa state pharmacy board to reclassify psilocybin, ibogaine, and MDMA for medicinal purposes. The measure would also remove the criminal penalties associated with the drugs when they are used for medicinal purposes. If passed, another bill would remove psilocybin and psilocin from the list of substances thought to have no currently accepted medical use.
30+ Bills Already Introduced
According to the Des Moines Register, Jeff has introduced more than 30 bills in the Iowa House since his term began. Other items on his to-do list include requiring 100% of school lunches to be certified organic, a proposal requiring the student to read the Russian novel “The Gulag Archipelago,” and a bill to prohibit adding hydrofluorosilicic acid or any other fluoride-based additives to drinking water supplies.