SW Iowa Times

A special election in Iowa Senate District 1 will be held Dec. 14, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced.

The special election is needed in light of the resignation of Sen. Zach Whiting, who vacated his seat to take a job opportunity in Texas. Whiting was in the midst of his first term in the Iowa Senate representing District 1, which includes Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola and Palo Alto Counties.

Iowa Code 69.14 outlines the authority given to the governor to set a special election. As of Nov. 3, two people had announced they intended to run for the vacated seat, KIWA radio reported. Barb Clayton of Spirit Lake announced her candidacy, basing her campaign on restoring individual rights that have been eroded by government control. She has been a Dickinson County resident since 1996 and is an entrepreneur. Dave Rowley, a Spirit Lake Republican, also announced his candidacy for the District 1 seat. Rowley indicated he wants to make sure that northwest Iowa maintains a strong voice in the Iowa Senate.

Whiting resigned effective Oct. 30 to accept a job at the Texas Public Policy Foundation based in Austin, Texas. Its mission, according to its website, is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise in Texas.

“This all happened very suddenly,” Whiting said in October, Radio Iowa reported, “but it was an opportunity that I just, professionally, couldn’t pass up.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation announced Whiting joined the foundation as the technology policy director. As a senior fellow, his duties will be to expand the foundation’s research and influence into the technology sphere and develop a conservative approach to technology policy and help enact policy in Texas and nationwide.

“I am thrilled to join TPPF and work to advance conservative principles within the technology sphere,” Whiting said in a release from the foundation. “Technology policy is a wide-ranging discipline that encompasses issues such as privacy, autonomous vehicles, social media censorship, cryptocurrency and more. I look forward to engaging policymakers, industry leaders and other key stakeholders to advance sound public policy in this cutting-edge issue area.”