Former State Rep. April Weaver on Sunday announced she plans to seek the State Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster.
“I am so excited to announce my run for State Senate,” Weaver said. “As a lifelong resident of Senate District 14, I know the people and the communities. I am prepared to work hard and earn the votes of the hard-working citizens of Shelby, Bibb and Chilton Counties.”
In May, Weaver was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the Region IV regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Weaver’s leadership experience in both public service and the private sector was the paramount reason she was asked to serve in the administration during the height of the COVID pandemic, her campaign said.
A registered nurse who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, Weaver worked for more than 23 years as a hospital leader in various management roles in urban, suburban and rural hospitals.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the Trump administration,” Weaver added. “I am deeply proud of the incredible things we were able to accomplish to make our country stronger, safer and more secure and was humbled that President Trump chose me to help during this health crisis. However, as this chapter of my life closes, another opens, and I am ready to serve the people of Alabama again.”
Prior to her appointment, Weaver served 10 years as an accomplished state legislator in the Alabama House of Representatives, including five years as the chair of the House Health Committee.
She served as the chair of the Shelby County House Delegation from October 2016 through May 2020. In her former House position, she was a member of the Shelby, Bibb and Chilton county legislative delegations, the same legislative delegations the Senate District 14 seat represents.
During her tenure in the State House, Weaver had a reputation of being a hardworking, strong conservative on both fiscal and social issues.
“I have always been a fiscal conservative and I have been proud to stand up for the pocketbooks of the families I have represented,” Weaver added. “Senate District 14 needs a proven conservative with courage to stand up for them. My entire career in public service has demonstrated that I am that type of conservative.”
The election has not been formally called by Gov. Kay Ivey yet and the election dates are not set. Ward’s resignation is official on Dec. 7.
