Liz Mathis, a former anchor with KCRG in Cedar Rapids and KWWL in Waterloo, is joining the race to fill a vacant seat in the Iowa senate.

“People all over are trying to get back on their feet from this lingering national recession,” Mathis said. “They need jobs and they need stability for their families, and all we’re getting from our government is gridlock. It must change.”

Mathis is running as a Democrat and is so far the only representative of her party vying for the seat vacated by Democrat Swati Dandekar, who resigned to accept a job on the state’s utilities board.

Mathis worked as an anchor for ABC-affiliate KCRG from 1998 to 2007, when she left to become a community relations executive with a family service and child welfare organization. Before KCRG, Mathis spent 16 years with KWWL, where she worked as an executive producer and anchor.

A special election is scheduled for November 8th.