Clara Reynen wants to AI-proof Iowa City

The Iowa City City Council candidate wants to bring her library background into city government. 

When Clara Reynen turned 18, she asked her parents if it would be OK for her to skip school that day because she had something important she wanted to do: Register to vote.

“So there’s this great picture of me holding up my voter registration form on my 18th birthday,” Reynen said. “That was something really cool about going to high school in Iowa, politics are very present, especially when you caucus.”

A decade later, Reynen is trying her hand at running for political office. The 28-year-old is one of four candidates seeking an at-large seat on the Iowa City City Council. Iowa City residents will choose two at-large candidates during the Nov. 4 election. 

Reynen’s opponents include transportation engineer and activist Newman Abuissa, incumbent councilmember Megan Alter, and incumbent mayor Bruce Teague. In Iowa City, residents elect the council, but councilmembers themselves appoint the mayor. Teague has been mayor since 2020. 

Iowa City City Council candidate Clara Reynen asked her parents if she could skip school on her 18th birthday, so that she could register to vote. (Photo courtesy Reynen campaign)

One of Reynen’s top priorities is finding a way to protect the city from the harms of artificial intelligence (AI). She wants to develop an ordinance to safeguard Iowa City from the potential risks of AI, including the possibility of a data center that would tap into the city’s aquifers.

She noted AI data centers require massive amounts of water, which could have an adverse effect on Iowa City’s water supply since the city relies on groundwater from aquifers to dilute the nitrate levels of water from the Iowa River.

“That water is like tens of thousands of millions of years old, and it’s a finite resource,” Reynen said. “So if we are pumping an extreme amount of water to big data centers, we are going to very rapidly begin to deplete that underground aquifer, which will make it harder to dilute our nitrate levels here in Iowa City.”

Aside from environmental impacts, she would also like to ensure the city doesn’t implement AI for predictive policing measures due to potential built-in biases in the software.

No stranger to city council

If elected, Reynen would be no stranger to the city council. She started attending council meetings to speak up on behalf of trans Iowans and their civil rights.

“My friends in the trans community were really worried about their rights being taken away,” Reynen said. “I felt like I was going a little insane going to so many meetings and watching my friends beg for anything, and to hear city councilors say things like, ‘We understand, we’re sorry, but our hands are tied.’ That just feels completely unacceptable to me.”

Under a Republican trifecta, Iowa’s state lawmakers have passed multiple laws targeting the trans community in recent years, including a 2025 law that stripped trans Iowans of civil rights protections. Iowa is the first state in the union to remove a group from a protected class.

While local governments cannot override state law, the Iowa City City Council did pass a resolution in August affirming that the city would continue to ensure LGBTQ+ residents would still “receive equal protection under the law.” 

Reynen also thinks her skills as a librarian could be applicable to local government.

“As a librarian, you’re trained to help people get what they need even if you can’t solve it that same day,” Reynen said. “You follow up with them, you find out who you need to talk to for the resources; I recognized that city government was not as personal and interconnected as I wanted it to be with the community, and I want to change that.”

At a glance:

Name: Clara Reynen

Position: Candidate for an at-large Iowa City City Council seat

Age: 28

Residence: Iowa City

Education: Graduated from Burlington Community High School in 2016; earned Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in Theater Arts and Religious Studies from the University of Iowa in Iowa City in 2020; earned a Master’s of Librarianship and Information Sciences from Iowa in 2025; and working toward a Master’s of Fine Arts from Iowa.

Political experience: Member of the coordinating committee of the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) UE Local 896, organizer with Iowa City Action for Palestine, and volunteered on Iowa City Councilman Oliver Weilein’s campaign.

Family: Two cats, Harrison and Genevieve.

Interests: Paper making, book binding, art, writing, playing the piano, and making small talk.