Branstad Abused the Power of the Governor's Office; Used Office to Further Personal Political Ambitions
Governor Branstad's own campaign has put the issue of his honesty and trustworthiness on the table. A search of the records kept by Branstad and his staff in the Governor's Office shows an abuse of power, putting personal political ambitions before the people of Iowa.
Governor Branstad's own campaign has put the issue of his honesty and trustworthiness on the table. A search of the records kept by Branstad and his staff in the Governor's Office shows an abuse of power, putting personal political ambitions before the people of Iowa.
In his most recent TV ad, entitled 'Rally,' Branstad's voice declares, "For those Iowans who want honest, open and scandal-free government - change is coming!"
"It's a clear abuse of power. It's systemic, with employees throughout the Governor's Office, including then-Governor Branstad, personally participating in these activities with complete disregard for the simple fact that they were playing politics on Iowa taxpayers' dime," said Culver/Judge Campaign Manager Donn Stanley.
The documents illustrate how Branstad and members of his Administration participated in campaign fundraising, opposition research and candidate recruitment from the Governor's office.
Doug Gross, Branstad's Chief of Staff, was playing a key role in running the Republican Party of Iowa as well as Branstad's re-election campaign from his office at the Iowa State Capitol. Another member of Branstad's staff, Jerry Mathiasen, was helping run a Congressional campaign from the Capitol and coordinating the Republican Party's legislative campaigns. In addition, Branstad's State-Federal Relations Director, was spending his day working on selling fundraising dinner tables for the Republican Governors Association.
"This is part of clear pattern of dishonesty and scandal," said Stanley. "Already during this campaign, Branstad has admitted that, for the majority of his tenure as Governor, the books were never balanced but what's worse is that by keeping two sets of books, he hid the truth about the state budget from Iowans. While today's information is new to Iowans, we already knew that, as Governor, he used the state plane for political purposes and held campaign fundraisers shortly after awarding donors multi-million dollar state contracts."
The Culver/Judge Campaign has compiled more than 400 pages of evidence chronicling the abuses of power by Branstad and his staff. All documents are available at BranstadFacts.com for print or download to the press and the public.
"This campaign is about which candidate is being honest with Iowans and whose side each candidate is on. We are happy to provide the facts and let Iowans make a judgment for themselves."