Clear Lake councilman announces he’s looking into running for Iowa House

CLEAR LAKE — A Clear Lake city councilman has declared he’ll explore running for the Iowa House next year.

Bennett Smith is an instructor of history and political science at North Iowa Area Community College. He started his first term on the Clear Lake City Council in 2018.

In a written statement, Smith says he’s exploring the possibility of becoming an independent candidate for House District 54. He says he looks forward to hearing from citizens in the district regarding various legislative issues that they are concerned about. He says if he enters the race, his goal would be to build a coalition of Republicans, Democrats and independents that want to move forward with a positive vision for conserving our natural resources, improving our educational outcomes, reforming the healthcare system, and promoting economic development in the state. 

The House District 54 seat covers Clear Lake, the western third of Cerro Gordo County, all of Franklin County, and the northwestern part of Butler County. Incumbent Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake earlier this year announced that she was stepping down as Speaker of the House for the upcoming session as she planned not to seek re-election to the seat.