SW Iowa Times

An Iowa City councilor is preparing to announce her bid to replace retiring state Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City).

The Daily Iowan reported that Janice Weiner has intentions to run for the higher chamber of the Iowa legislature as a Democrat despite not having made an official announcement as of Nov. 14.

“And we're off to the races! Will be working hard to earn your support,” Weiner wrote on Facebook.

Weiner’s Senate aspirations come just more than a year after she was elected to her first term — which runs through 2024 — on Iowa City Council.

She’s the first person to enter the contest to become Bolkcom’s successor, according to The Daily Iowan.

The 65-year-old Bolkcom is serving his sixth term in the Senate, representing Iowa City, University Heights, East Lucas Township and the city of Hills.

Prior to the Senate, Bolkcom served on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for six years.

The Daily Iowan reported that Bolkcom earlier this year announced that he would not seek a seventh term as the representative of the newly drawn Iowa Senate District 45.

A 1976 graduate of Iowa City West High School, Weiner holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a juris doctorate from Stanford Law School.

She is retired from a 26-year career with the U.S. Foreign Service.

Weiner has two adult daughters, a granddaughter and five fur children: four dogs and a cat.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that Weiner fears for the direction Iowa is headed under current leadership and wants to lead a Democratic resurgence.

"I've seen countries climbing out of totalitarian systems and slipping down towards them, and I see a lot of red, flashing lights all around this country," she told the publication. "I want to make sure that we call those out and make clear what is happening."