Last week in the Northside, yard signs popped up for somebody I’ve never heard of, who is apparently running for the Iowa state Senate against our City Councilor Janice Weiner. Weirdly, all of the signs, as far as I can see, are in front of rental houses. Seems to me some landlords are plopping down these signs, regardless of how the residents of these houses might vote.

In front of my house is a yard sign for Janice Weiner. She has my full support in her run for Iowa State Senate District 45, an open seat now that Sen. Joe Bolkcom is retiring. Weiner is the best candidate to fill Joe’s shoes and carry on his good work in the statehouse. Weiner is an extremely hard worker, and she knows the district well.

She has amazing life experiences that will inform her work as a legislator, from serving our country in the Foreign Service to raising her young granddaughter on her own. Like Bolkcom, Weiner will fight against the hard right turn taken by statehouse Republicans and will speak out against unfairness and injustice. Weiner cares very deeply about our community and its people.

In politics, they say “yard signs don’t vote.” It means yard signs don’t have any effect on voter turnout or voting decisions. I’ve always thought that was wrong here in Iowa, where we take our politics very seriously. But in this case, yard signs don’t matter much. You might see random political signs popping up like late daffodils, but Weiner is the only choice for the district. She has my vote, and I hope she’ll have yours too on June 7.

-Sarah Prineas, Iowa City Resident