Ned Chiodo, Polk County political mainstay, dies at 83

Chiodo won a write-in campaign for the Iowa House in 1976 and later became Polk County auditor and formed his own lobbying firm.

His home became a regular stop for Democratic presidential candidates seeking to win his support in their Iowa caucus campaigns.

"I’m going to remember my dad as somebody who put his family, his friends and his community above all," one of his sons said.

Ned Chiodo, a Democrat who won a seat in the Iowa House as a write-in candidate and became a Polk County political institution, died Sept. 4 in West Des Moines. He was 83.

Frank Chiodo, one of Ned Chiodo's sons who later became a state representative and a lobbyist, said his father "put family and service above all else."

"I’m going to remember my dad as somebody who put his family, his friends and his com