Statement on Branstad Open Records Comments
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan released the statement below following Terry Branstad's comments regarding open records and transparency in state government to the Des Moines Register editorial board this morning.
"Branstad should be familiar with self-dealing cronies after his own Chief of Staff Doug Gross made millions lobbying the state government. Or maybe Branstad’s memory isn’t serving him well anymore; he 'forgot' about ever discussing the Clarinda prison project with Gross.
"Branstad’s administration was one of the most cozy, back-scratching operations in the history of state government. His appointees mirrored his donor list.
"The last thing state government needs is a whole new raft of lawyers reviewing documents. Spending scarce state resources on a new legal bureaucracy flies in the face of Branstad’s pledge to trim the size of government. Put simply, it’s a cheap campaign ploy that sounds good in a press release but won't work to fool Iowans. Branstad should know better."
Background
Clarinda Prison Scandal Increased Talk That Gross’ Relationship With The Governor Has Paid Off For His Clients Douglas Gross’ records show that he talked with the Governor 8 times about the Clarinda prison between June 1993 and 1994. This controversy has increased buzz that Gross’ close relations with the Governor has paid off for clients. “There are serious accusations in terms of the larger picture of state government. We have been working to regain the trust of state government and to reduce the level of cynicism” said State Senator Ralph Rosenberg Vice Chairman of the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee. (Des Moines Register, July 9, 1994)
Gross Accused Of Influencing Branstad’s Endorsement Of Prison Project Without Having Registered With Iowa Ethics And Campaign Disclosure Board As A Lobbyist “Those conflicting views were put to the test in 1994, when Gross was accused of influencing Branstad’s endorsement of a prison project without having registered with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board as a lobbyist. Gross’ law firm had been hired by Clarinda community leaders to help obtain the state’s support for a proposed $21 million state prison in the southwest Iowa city. Other Iowa cities also were interested in becoming the site of a new prison. The law firm’s itemized bills for work on the Clarinda prison showed that Gross talked privately eight times with Branstad about the project, and with other state officials on dozens of occasions. Most of the conversations with Branstad occurred before the governor publicly endorsed the project in January 1994. Both denied the talks went beyond sharing information. Investigators said there were no transcripts of the conversations.” (Des Moines Register, September 22, 2002)
Branstad Hired Former Aide To Represent State In Pay Dispute; State Bill Totaled Nearly $400,000 And Lost “Branstad turned to (Doug) Gross and the Brown Winick firm in 1991 to represent the state in a bitter pay dispute with the biggest state worker union. The state’s legal bills totaled nearly $400,000. Critics say Gross lacked the courtroom and labor-law experience to handle the lawsuit, which the state lost. Gross strongly disagrees. ‘I don’t apologize for the work we did. We didn’t leave any stone unturned.’ Attorney General Bonnie Campbell, a Democrat, had declined to represent state officials in the lawsuit.” (Des Moines Register, September 22, 2002)
Branstad Calls Investigation Of Gross A Witch Hunt On the eve of the decision by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure board on whether former Branstad aide, Douglas Gross violated state ethics laws, Branstad called the investigation and treatment of the controversy a “witch hunt”. (Des Moines Register, August 25, 1994)
State Paid $160 Million Over Five Years To Clients of Law Firm Of Branstad’s Former Chief of Staff “The ethics investigation was accompanied by the release of a report by (State Auditor Richard) Johnson and (state Treasurer Michael) Fitzgerald, the state auditor and treasurer, on state government contracts with businesses represented by the Brown Winick firm as well as direct payments to the firm for legal services. In all, the state paid more than $160 million over five years to clients of the law firm. Most of the money—$96 million—was paid to MFS Technologies for construction of the statewide fiber-optic network. The state spends a lot on private contractors. In 1993 alone, Iowa spent more than $200 million just on service contracts.” (Des Moines Register, September 22, 2002)