Iowa Democratic gubernatorial hopeful wants data on troopers’ traffic violations

A Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is calling on Gov. Terry Branstad to tell Iowans how many times the state-owned vehicle he travels in has been pulled over or had its license plates run through police databases.

Sen. Jack Hatch, who may seek his party's nomination to challenge Branstad in 2014, called for the governor to make public that information after the Department of Public Safety decided it should remain confidential to avoid any potential threat to the governor's safety.

The issue came up after an Iowa State Patrol trooper chauffeuring the governor was clocked doing 84 mph in a 65 mph zone. Releasing the information would reveal whether troopers driving the governor had been stopped by law enforcement for speeding or other traffic violations. The data also would reveal whether they had avoided speed camera-generated citations because of the undercover licenses on the governor's vehicle.

“What does Terry Branstad have to hide?” Hatch asked Monday, a day after he began $40,000 television ad campaign poking fun at the governor over an April 26 speeding incident involving a trooper driving a SUV in which Branstad was riding.

To the best of his recollection, Hatch was ticketed twice for speeding in the 1980s. He paid both fines, Hatch said.

Hatch called the alleged violation by the trooper “another chapter of Terry Branstad acting as though the rules that we live by do not apply to him.”

Branstad, however, has asked for the same information. He wants to know how many traffic camera tickets were not issued to the 3,200 vehicles with undercover plates.

Based on an explanation from the DPS, the information could be released to the governor. A spokesman for the agency, which originally agreed to provide the Associated Press with the information at a cost of about $200, said that after consulting with legal counsel it was determined the data only can be accessed by law enforcement. It can be shared with other state employees for official use.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is gathering data on the 3,200 undercover plates, but a spokeswoman said it has not been decided whether it will look at how often a specific plate has avoided a speeding citation.

Hatch, who said he will announce “in the coming weeks” whether to seek the Democratic nomination for governor, has been making the trooper's alleged speeding the focus of his campaign.

Sunday he released a 30-second TV ad poking fun at Branstad with a parody of the 1970s movie, “Smokey and the Bandit.” The ad, the first of the 2014 campaign, is scheduled to run through Aug. 14.

The ad brought a quick response from Branstad campaign spokesman Jimmy Centers

“You would think a guy with 20 years in the Legislature would have positive accomplishments or a vision he could use to introduce himself to Iowans,” Center said. “Instead, liberal Sen. Jack Hatch has decided to roll out a negative, Washington-D.C.-style attack ad that shows he's more interested in petty partisan attacks than he is working together to move Iowa forward.”

Centers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hatch's demand that Branstad release the DPS information.