After 24 years of service in the Ames and Story County area, Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames, will retire from the Iowa Senate when her term ends in December 2002.

“I think it’s time to have new people with new ideas take over,” she said. “I have been there long enough.”

Hammond has served eight years in the Senate, 12 years in the House of Representatives and four years on the Story County Board of Supervisors.

She was the first female on the Story County Board of Supervisors and the first female from Ames in the House and Senate.

A new Democratic candidate will run against Rep. Barbara Finch, R-Ames, in the November 2002 Senate election for the reapportioned District 23.

It doesn’t make a difference who will run against Finch because she will have a tough time winning, said Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director Sarah Leonard.

“I am certainly hopeful the Democratic candidate will win and the numbers look good,” Hammond said.

With Hammond retiring, Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, said the election will be more interesting.

“This is a mostly Democratic district,” he said.

“Incumbents always have the advantage, so it will be an interesting race because it opens a seat. Nobody knows what will happen.”

Hammond’s philosophy and culture fit the district well, making her a good senator, Schmidt said.

“Johnie Hammond served the district well and hard,” Schmidt said. “This is a loss for her constituents because she took care of problems with skill. She had seniority in the house, which is always something very valuable.”

The Iowa Democratic Party will be losing one of Iowa’s greatest assets in the Iowa Statehouse, Leonard said.

“She’s been an advocate for children and families and is an amazing senator,” Leonard said. “The Iowa Democratic Party will miss her as an elected official, but we hope she’ll stay active in Democratic politics.”

Although she will not hold a political position, Hammond said she plans to stay active.

“I’m sure I’ll find ways to shake a few people and rattle a few cages,” she said. “Other than that, I have no other political ambitions. I have had a lot of satisfaction and appreciate the confidence my constituents have given me.”

Hammond said she will miss the feeling of a family within the Democratic Party.

“I will miss the sense of being a team working together for the issues important to the team,” she said.