News Release | March 11
Democrat Shawn Olorundami has announced his candidacy for State House District 1, the seat from which Representative J.D. Scholten has announced his retirement. Olorundami is a 40-year-old Sioux City native who was a state championship hurdler for Sioux City West, from which he graduated in 2004. He attended Buena Vista University in Storm Lake where he was a three-time NCAA All-American in Track and Field and earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education.
Olorundami has taught English at Sioux City North High since 2010, and in the past has coached and sponsored a number of activities including track, cross country, the multiple-state-championship-winning boys dance team, and award-winning Mass Communications program.
Olorundami is a member of the Sioux City Education Association (SCEA) where he has been a member of the union’s bargaining team. He is also on the English Language ArtsCurriculum team. Outside of work, Olorundami is a member of his church council and an appointee on the Sioux City Active Transportation Advisory Committee.
Olorundami’s wife, Mary, is also a teacher for Sioux City Schools at Bryant Elementary, and the couple has four children.
Said Olorundami, “I am running because I—like many Iowans—am sick of watching Iowans’ hard-won freedoms, progress, and rights be shredded at the hands of a legislature and governor who seem to care a lot more about the wealthy than they ever did about the working; who are very interested in serving out-of-state money and special interest groups, but couldn’t care less about serving Iowans; and who love to seek control but have never given a second thought to pursuing progress.
“I’m also running,” continued Olorundami, “because I have had enough. We sit here today with failing schools, record-breaking cancer rates, the literal worst economy in the nation, and we are dejected. Every other day we see a new piece of legislation further restricting our liberties and rights and hamstringing our local governments. But we remember when we fought for people’s rights, we remember when our schools were the top in the nation, we remember when we were envied for our quality of life, we remember when we had the fastest growing economy in the nation, and we remember what it felt like when we innovated, excelled, and thrived in an Iowa where we fought For Progress, For Us.”
Voters have the opportunity to meet Olorundami at Winnie’s on Tuesday, March 17, following the St. Patrick’s Day parade.