“Week after week, Governor Reynolds cannot escape the consequences of her ethically challenged administration. Anyone who takes more than a cursory glance at her record can see that she consistently puts special interests and partisan games ahead of even the basic functions of government. It’s no wonder her approval ratings continue to sink,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price.
This week started with Reynolds being exposed for illegally appointing a district judge. According to the Iowa state Constitution, a governor has 30 days to appoint a district judge, yet Governor Reynolds did not make the official announcement for a district 6 judge until four days after the deadline had passed.
Reynolds’ only excuse for missing the deadline was that she was “on the road” and “busy.”
- On Monday, experts challenged the legality of Reynolds’ judicial appointment. Des Moines Attorney Mike Kelly said, ““He’s not a duly-appointed judge pursuant to the constitution of the state of Iowa. His ability to issue rulings doesn’t exist. Anybody who does have an adverse ruling from him has more than enough room to challenge it going forward.”
- On Wednesday, new data was released from the Iowa Poll that found that only 28% of Iowans support Governor Reynolds’ failed Medicaid privatization scheme. This was a nine percentage point drop since last year.
- On Thursday, Reynolds was called out in a blistering editorial from Kathie Obradovich for the cronyism Reynolds has allowed and enabled in state government. Reynolds’ own relationship with the disgraced former head of the Iowa Finance Authority was cited by multiple employees as the reason they did not report his abhorrent behavior.
- On Friday, the Associated Press came out with a new allegations of sexual harassment against longtime Reynolds friend and ally Dave Jamison. Iowa Title Guarantee Director Tara Lawrence criticized Governor Reynolds for “commissioning a report that she says portrays her as an enabler of Jamison, one of the governor’s longtime friends and advisers, instead of a victim.” In her interview with the AP, Lawrence detailed Jamison’s disgusting alleged behavior towards her, making it even more puzzling as to why the governor trusted him for so long and how she could have been unaware of his blatant and persistent harassment.