Senator Claire Celsi Contact information

Claire Celsi is a member of the Iowa Senate, representing Senate District 16 in Central Iowa. She is a member of the Democratic Party and has served as senator since 2019. She was elected to her second term in the Iowa Senate in 2022. Her constituency includes southwest Polk County, encompassing West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, and Clive, as well as a small portion of eastern Dallas County.

Claire was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. She graduated in 1984 from Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. She received her B.A. in sociology, cum laude, from Drake University.

Claire owns a marketing and public relations firm, The Public Relations Project, which was incorporated in 2009. She works with small to medium-sized companies, nonprofits, and government agencies to help them get noticed through public relations, marketing, and grassroots advocacy. Some of her former clients include the Des Moines Water Works, the Iowa Lottery, Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Iowa Tourism Bureau, SILT, Kinze Manufacturing, Weitz Construction Company, the Ethanol industry, and many other organizations.

Claire was appointed to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Commission on May 10, 2010, and served for five years, including one year as chair. She previously served on the Iowa Great Places Advisory Board in the Cultural Affairs Department. She currently serves on the Family Development and Self-Sufficiency (FaDDS) Council, the Early Childhood Iowa board, and the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communications National Advisory Board. She also serves on the Historic Valley Junction Foundation Board of Directors.

Claire is a community volunteer and dedicates her free time to advocating for public education through the group Iowans for Public Education, a grassroots group she helped to activate. She is the mother of two adult children and the very proud Grandma of six-year-old Mia.

Claire’s campaign positions included opposing state funding for homeschooling, state tracking and monitoring of homeschooled students, increasing state spending on public primary schools by four percent per year, and opposing Medicaid privatization. She ran for reelection in Senate district 16, after the 2021 redistricting process redrew the district. Her opponent in the 2022 general election was Bradley D. Price of West Des Moines. Price won the Senate District 16 Republican primary by 25 votes. The vote totals were 1576 for Price to 1551 for Shad Clayton. Senator Celsi won the 2022 general election, 58% to 42% percent, beating Republican candidate Bradley D. Price of West Des Moines.