About Janice Weiner

Janice recalls her mom always budgeting to donate to campaigns and learned about social responsibility when the family boycotted Nestle because they were pushing baby formula in Africa, and grapes when Cesar Chavez and the United Farm workers were on strike in California. Her parents were strong union supporters as well – her mom had done union organizing in NYC with Pete Seeger.

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Janice is a graduate of Iowa City’s West High School. She spent her senior year as an AFS exchange student in Belgium, which opened her mind to the world. She credits her ICCSD public school education with her admission to Princeton University, and later Stanford Law School.

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Serving our nation in the U.S. State Department

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In 1987, Janice joined the U.S. State Department. Her first posting was in East Berlin, both before and after the Berlin Wall fell, an experience that combined totalitarianism with a peaceful grassroots revolution. She served in Belgium, then Turkey, where she won awards as Embassy human rights officer during the height of the PKK insurgency. Subsequent posts included Washington; Warsaw, Poland; Toronto, Canada; Mexico City, Mexico; and Düsseldorf, Germany as Consul General. Her final posting was in Washington, liaising with Capitol Hill.

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After retiring from the Foreign Service, Janice worked for the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the bargaining unit and professional association of the Foreign Service.  Janice has been a member of AFSA since joining the Foreign Service and served twice as a post rep. Janice moved home to Iowa in 2015 with her younger daughter, who graduated from West High in 2018. Her young granddaughter lives with her, so she is “single parenting” again and viewing Iowa through the child-raising lens.

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Serving her community

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Before the Iowa State Senate, Janice was a member of the Iowa City City Council. She also remains an active volunteer in the Johnson County area. Among the ways she has served includes being president of the Board of Agudas Achim synagogue, on the Board of Shelter House and UNA/USA, and a member of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council. Janice has worked at all levels of the Iowa Democratic Party. She is a founding member of Potluck Insurgency and enjoys playing with the Community Band. She has even served as a short-term substitute teacher for ICCSD and was executive director of the Council for International Visitors to Iowa Cities (CIVIC).

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A passion for helping people through politics

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In the Foreign Service, Janice forged relationships across the political spectrum, with all walks of life and all socio-economic levels. She learned to listen, ask questions, and learn. In 1984, Janice ran Get Out the Vote for the Iowa Democrats in Johnson County (when Harkin was first elected to the US Senate). In fall 2016, she dusted off her grassroots political skills and worked for three intensive months as a field organizer. The results of the 2016 elections deepened her determination to ensure that good candidates who care about all the people get into office. She believes that we are all ultimately measured by how well we treat those who have the least,

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Janice has been serving the people of Senate District 45 (Iowa City) as State Senator since January 2023.  She respectfully asks for your vote in November 2026 for another term. 

In the Iowa Senate

 

During her first term in the Iowa Senate, Janice has focused on listening to Iowans, building an effective team within the Democratic caucus - and calling our her colleagues in the majority party when they are not paying attention to what Iowans want.

 

Janice’s colleagues elected her to lead their caucus in November 2024, in the aftermath of the 2024 election. The caucus was at 15 - in the superminority. Shortly after she was elected, a senate seat became vacant when Chris Cournoyer was appointed lieutenant governor, triggering a special election in SD35 - Clinton County and parts of Jackson and Scott Counties. With the right candidate and a ton of hard work in frigid temperatures, Senator MIke Zimmer flipped that seat. Then we were 16.

 

In June 2025, we lost a colleague, Senator Rocky DeWitt (R) to cancer in Sioux City, triggering another special election for SD1. We knocked doors in the heat - and Senator Catelin Drey flipped another seat, breaking the supermajority. We were at 17.

 

In October, we lost another colleague, Senator Claire Celsi (D). The governor called the special election for that district (SD16 - West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights) for December 30, in the midst of the holidays. Together, we did the work, and elected Senator Renee Hardman, the first Black woman ever to serve in the Iowa Senate - and we stayed out of the superminority. We are at 17.

 

3, 2, 1 - three special elections and three victories (with 20 point + swings); two seats flipped; one supermajority broken. And we plan to keep going this November!

 

We knocked thousands of doors all across Iowa in 2025 thanks to that trio of special elections - and listened to Iowans from the Mississippi to the Missouri and in-between. They told us they are worried about costs - they want housing they can afford, childcare that doesn’t break the bank, healthcare that is accessible and affordable. They want to be able to feed their families. They want good public schools - they don’t like vouchers. They want clean water. They want our cancer rate to be lower. And they want us to budget responsibly. 

 

I’ve traveled all over this state, listening to Iowans in every corner, and will continue to do so.

 

This is now my second session as leader. I am honored to work with my Democratic colleagues every day - they all care deeply about this state and all its people. We are normal people who seek to serve Iowans, grow our economy, and give everyone a fair deal. We’ll work with our colleagues across the aisle when we can - it’s rare, but it happens. We want to bring this state back to balance. 

 

Together, we can do this, Iowa!

 

I’d be honored to earn your vote as I run for reelection in 2026.