Josh Hughes served on the Interstate 35 Community School District Board of Directors from 2015 to 2019. He lives in Des Moines with his husband and four cats.

The first time I met Claire Celsi was in October 2015. Somehow I learned about an event supporting Hillary Clinton’s campaign with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright at a home in southern West Des Moines. Claire was there as well, and I recall her sharing that she was planning to announce her campaign for House District 42 against GOP incumbent Peter Cownie.

Cownie had raised substantial money in his prior campaigns and had been able to secure reelection by double digits despite representing a swingy district. I distinctly remember Claire saying, almost in implicit recognition of that fact, “I’m gonna out work him.”