Former Davenport mayor promoted to economic office
Thom Hart has been promoted to division administrator for the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s business development division, he said Monday.
Hart, who served three terms as mayor of Davenport, was named as infrastructure and transportation coordinator of the department in October 2007. “It oversees the marketing, finance, business regulatory, international marketing trade, compliance and commercialization,” he said.
He said the international marketing trade aspect will involve “foreign investments, establishing relations with other countries and businesses, and those that have companies that are in our area here.”
Hart said there has been a lot of reorganization the past nine months, including retirements, early outs and dismissals. In all, “21 people went out of our department,” Hart said.
He replaces Jeff Rossate, who was among department employees who lost their jobs earlier this year in connection with the scandal-plagued film office within the department.
Hart said additional duties were added to the position, including compliance and commercialization.
Hart is a native of Davenport and a graduate of St. Ambrose University, Davenport. He was elected to the Davenport City Council in 1973 as a college sophomore, making him the youngest elected official in Iowa. In 1978, he was elected to the Scott County Board of Supervisors and was re-elected in 1982. He served three terms, beginning in 1986, as mayor of Davenport.
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