(DES MOINES) – Governor Branstad today appointed State Senator Swati Dandekar of Marion to serve on the Iowa Utilities Board. Dandekar will serve the unexpired portion of the term left vacant with the recent resignation of Rob Bernsten. |(DES MOINES) – Governor Branstad today appointed State Senator Swati Dandekar of Marion to serve on the Iowa Utilities Board. Dandekar will serve the unexpired portion of the term left vacant with the recent resignation of Rob Bernsten.
Branstad said, “Swati Dandekar is uniquely qualified to serve on the Iowa Utilities Board. As Chairperson of the Senate Commerce Committee and throughout her service in the Iowa Senate and House, she has demonstrated a deep understanding of the utility industry and of the energy issues facing our state.
“As a scientist with a degree in chemistry, Swati Dandekar will bring both an educational and professional background that will benefit our state’s utility customers as she helps craft a regulatory environment that protects consumers while promoting energy production in Iowa.”
Dandekar was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2008, after serving in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2002. Dandekar was the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and vice-chair of the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee.
She received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from Nagpur University and a post-graduate diploma in dietetics from Bombay University in India.
Swati and her husband, Arvind, reside in Marion, Iowa. They have two sons, Ajai and Govind.
Dandekar will begin her service on the Iowa Utilities Board immediately and, upon Senate confirmation next year, will serve the balance of the term through April 30, 2015.
Today she resigned from the Iowa Senate to accept this appointment and Governor Branstad will have five days to choose a date for a Special Election to fill the balance of her Senate term.
