Is It Considered Ethical to Be Paid as a Political Consultant While Employed in the Auditor's Office?

The One Community, One Bond organization raised a great deal of money from local banks and developers to build schools outside of Iowa City while closing neighborhood schools inside of Iowa City. The group paid John Deeth $500.00 for political consulting work. (The $191.5 million bond passed, 65-35%, on September 12, 2017.) I was appalled by Deeth's apparent conflict of interest. Initially, I was certain that it was unethical and probably illegal for John Deeth, an employee of a county auditor's office, to serve privately as a political consultant to a group supporting an issue on a ballot, especially one authorizing millions of dollars to a wasteful and incompetent school district currently in violation of federal law.

But no. Apparently, working as staff at the auditor's office and working as a private political consultant is legal and passes the smell test as a First Amendment freedom-of-speech protection. Even county auditors can be actively involved in politics, even serve as chairs of their chosen party, if they wish, though some consider that to be unethical and choose to remain apolitical, at least in public.

I called the Iowa Attorney General's office (515-281-5164) and talked to a very helpful attorney, Megan Tooker, who sent me statements and opinions on the issue. As long as auditors and their employees don't use public information or work on the auditor's clock while consulting for private gain, they're okay, although certain public officials are prohibited from political endorsements and other political activity.

Megan offered her speculation that Deeth does not work on the elections side of the auditor's office and is therefore not (?) using public information or working on the auditor's clock for private gain. I'd love to nail that down, but so far Travis Weipert, Johnson County Auditor, hasn't returned my phone call.

I worry about one-party rule in Johnson County. It's not that I'm not a Democrat. I am, but in a quip attributed to Lord Acton, though it was doubtless said before, possibly by the Frenchman Lamartine, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Republicans who are in the majority in Congress, the White House, and possibly the Supreme Court have demonstrated the truth of the above truism to a fare-thee-well, and I worry that Johnson County Democrats are doing the same in our neck of the woods.

Remember when Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said that it was okay for former Iowa City Community School District physical plant director Paul Schultz to bring guns on school property because he brought guns on school district property instead of school property? Pray tell, what on earth is the difference between school property and school district property? Paul Schultz brought a gun to a physical plant meeting for show-and-tell in a hostile work environment during school hours when ICCSD students had access to the building.

Johnson County Democrats have seamlessly helped the ICCSD cover its behind and gouge money out of the public before. I think their efforts, considering what the school district has been up to in the meantime, is starting to produce an odor.