(Radio Iowa) – State Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola has died at the age of 85. Garrett announced in March he was being treated for prostate cancer and would not seek re-election this year. Garrett, a Republican, was first elected to the Iowa legislature in 2010. Garrett was a lawyer and he led the Consumer Protection Office in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for a dozen years. He also raised Charolais cattle on a farm in southern Warren County.
Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says Garrett was committed to conservative policies, was deeply respected by his G-O-P colleagues and will be missed as the Senate faces another loss. Garrett is the third state senator to die in the past 12 months.
State Senator Rocky De Witt, a 66 year old Republican from Lawton, died of cancer in last June. State Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat from West Des Moines, died last fall at the age of 59 after a long battle with an undisclosed medical condition. Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner says as the senate grieves the loss of yet another colleague, she sends her deepest condolences to Garrett’s loved ones.
