For Susan Mims, a seat on the Iowa City City Council could mean one thing: a chance to help cure the city’s monetary woes.

But if elected, she said, she hopes to bring even more change to the council.

“I just thought I had a lot to offer, especially as this time,” said Mims, a financial planner at Heartland Investment Associates.

Mims announced her candidacy for the City Council at-large seat in May. Her campaign is focused on the financial issues facing the council, and she said skills from her job in finance would serve her well as a councilor.

The 52-year-old also uses her community involvement as a selling point in her campaign. She is a former member of the Iowa City School Board and served as its president, and she is a member of the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce and Iowa City Booster Club.

“It’s always been important to me to be involved,” said Mims, who began life in Iowa City when she enrolled at the UI as a 20-year-old.

After attaining a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering, she’s now in her 30th year as an Iowa City resident.

Mims said she decided to enter the political fray after encouragement from fellow Iowa City residents.

She began campaign efforts by putting up yard signs, mailing citizens, and setting up a table at the Farmers’ Market every week. So far, she’s received positive feedback from potential constituents, she said.

“People have been excited,” she said. “I’ve been gaining great support from those who are willing to step up.”

Her husband, Iowa Associate Athletics Director Fred Mims, said he thinks his wife has what it takes to be a successful councilor.

“She’s a very bright individual,” he said, and he believes she would make good decisions for the community.

Throughout her campaign, Susan Mims has targeted such issues as expansion of a nonresidential tax-base, fiscal responsibility, and public safety.

“We need to increase the number of police officers and have more community policing,” she said.

She also hopes that the council — after new councilors take seats — will join efforts with other governmental entities, including Johnson County officials and other councils in the area.

“We need to help each other out so we can be more efficient and resourceful,” she said.

Aside from working and campaigning, Mims said she enjoys gardening, reading, and jogging. She was once a member of the Hawkeye track team, but she is the first to admit that her runs are no longer a race.

Mims and her family — which includes four kids, all City High graduates — also enjoy watching Hawkeye football on weekends, which likely can be attributed to her husband’s position.

“I love sports,” she said, and she never misses a game.

The primary election is scheduled for Oct. 6, when one at-large candidate will be voted out of the race, leaving four potential councilors running for the two available seats.