About Shad

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Shad is a loving husband and father who visibly and verbally prioritizes living out his faith, loving his family, and serving his community. Those are the guiding principles that define him.

My personal goal each day is simply to be a wiser, more productive, and more enlightened person than I was yesterday.

As we grow personally, we add more value to the lives of those around us, becoming the change that ensures a better tomorrow for everyone. 

Here at home and all around our nation, common decency, mutual respect, and basic civility, are being overshadowed by political polarization, labeling, hatred, judgment, and racial weaponization. We can no longer afford to demonize fellow Americans because of their views nor judge our leaders based on their political party, or their support or opposition to what or who is popular. 

We need to elect service-oriented leaders that uphold the Constitution, and that address the concerns of ALL people in the district that they were elected to serve.

The reason that I am running for the Iowa State Senate is simple. I have been listening to so many people from all walks of life, all political, racial, and cultural backgrounds. All of them are tired. Tired of being dismissed and of their voices not being heard. Well, I hear you, ALL of you! We deserve better, we MUST do better, and by coming together, we CAN affect change for the better! With your support and your vote, I will see to it that YOUR voices are always heard!

As your senator, I will work tirelessly to preserve protect and defend YOUR constitutional rights, ensuring that YOUR individual freedoms and civil liberties are protected regardless of race, sex, religion, cultural background, or political ideology. We are all equal citizens of this great nation, born with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

                            ~Shad Clayton

Shad truly exemplifies the type of servant leadership that is necessary to bring unity and restore trust in our government. 

Shad is a veteran having served eight years as a combat engineer in the Iowa Army National Guard 224th engineer battalion. He continues to serve his community; from serving meals to those in need at local missions, to assisting non-profit groups like Cover My Six Iowa, where he currently serves as Vice President of outreach providing financial aid to Iowa's veterans and their families in times of crisis. He is also actively involved in mentoring and coaching local youth sports.

He also continues to serve his hometown community of Keokuk, IA. Just this past year, he successfully organized and led a petition to name the track and football field in honor of two beloved teaching and coaching icons. Shortly thereafter, Shad established the KHS Hall of Fame Foundation to raise funds for constructing a hall of fame building designed to showcase the numerous academic and athletic achievements of countless KHS alumni that were all but forgotten. All of this in just nine short months. As a result of his selfless and tireless dedication, Shad was selected to deliver Keokuk High School's landmark 150th commencement address, fate would have it, this coincided with another landmark event, the 150th anniversary of Susan Clark becoming the first black student to graduate from a public high school in Iowa in June of 1871. 

Shad has an opportunity to make history as well, as he would become only the second black senator in Iowa's history, the first in nearly 40 years. 

Shad recalls vividly the defining moment that started him on the path to a life of public service. It occurred when he was just 11. He was profoundly impacted by a speech he had heard replayed on television. The speaker asked...

"What kind of a peace do we seek.
I'm talking about a genuine peace. The kind of peace that makes life in America worth living. Not just peace in our time, peace in all time. Our problems are man-made therefore they can be solved by man. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we ALL inhabit this small planet, we ALL breathe the same air, we ALL cherish our children's future, and we are ALL mortal."            

                  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy   

Shad is an energetic forward-thinking leader with highly effective problem solving, communication, and people skills. He has genuine desire to listen to ALL perspectives. It has become common practice for politicians to block or dismiss anyone including their own constituents that hold opposing views to their own. Shad understands that a true leader must always seek to open dialog and actively engage with those in opposition in order find solutions that move us forward. His charismatic personality and genuine love for people have distinguished him as a unifying and transformational figure. He is perfectly suited to take on the challenges we face.