Iowa House Ethics Committee Dismisses Claim Against Johnston Representative Helland

An ethics complaint dismissed a complaint against Iowa House Representative Erik Helland Monday afternoon.

According to the Des Moines Register, the Iowa House Ethics Committee voted 4 to 2 to dismiss the complaint filed by Republican challenger Jake Highfill.

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The complaint charged that Helland offered Highfill two jobs if he agreed not to run for the Iowa District 36 House seat.

The committee, comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans found that Highfill did not fall under the list in state law of officials who can be illegally bribed.

According to the Register, the committee will seek guidance from the House research staff to determine precedent on how the bribery law has been interpreted and how the Ethics Committee has handled similar cases.

The committee will reconvene on Monday.

According to a Des Moines Register article, Highfill, a Johnston resident and University of Iowa student, filed a formal complaint with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and chief clerk of the Iowa House on March 9. In the complaint Highfill equates the alleged offer to a bribe.

Helland has denied the accusations, the newspaper reported.

Helland has not responded to Johnston Patch's request for comment on the issue.

The Register reported that in the complaint  says Helland offered him a position as a legislative clerk and offered to find him a job on a Republican campaign throughout the 2012 election season.

An excerpt from the complaint:

“Mr. Helland made a series of attempts to persuade me not to challenge him in the Republican Primary,” Highfill’s complaint alleges. “He talked about the money advantage he has, his seniority in the Iowa House, as well as his performance in the previous 2008 primary he was involved in against Al Lorenzen. Included in his attempts to persuade me not to challenge him were promising me multiple jobs, including being a clerk in the Iowa House and working for a candidate or the Republican Party in the summer and fall. He repeatedly told me that I don’t want to challenge him and that I should abandon my campaign and gain experience by working for him and the Republican Party.”

The Register reported Wednesday this was not the first incident that Helland has been involved in since being elected to the House in 2008.

Incidents, the Register reported, included pleading guilty to operating while intoxicated in 2010 and being recorded during a session last year making comments about "specializing in dirty work."