Former leader in Iowa Legislature loses lobbying gig over his role in Senate Democrats’ leadership change

DES MOINES — A former Iowa Capitol leader lost his lobbying job over his role in Senate Democrats’ recent leadership shake-up.

Mike Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs and former Iowa Senate majority leader, was asked to resign from his statehouse lobbying job for the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council after the organization learned of his involvement in Senate Democrats’ recent removal of Sen. Zach Wahls as their leader.

The Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council is a collection of nine regional building trades councils that represents thousands of Iowa construction workers. The organization lobbies state lawmakers on proposed legislation related to the construction industry.

The council addressed Gronstal’s dismissal in a statement that was circulated among its member groups. The Gazette obtained a copy of the statement and verified it with the council’s leadership.

The council “made the decision last week to end (its) relationship with former Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal over concerns related to his involvement in recent internal Senate Democratic caucus matters. On Thursday, June 8, council leadership asked for and accepted Mr. Gronstal’s resignation as the building trades’ lobbyist,” the statement says. “The council appreciates the work he did advocating on behalf of the building trades in the state legislature and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.”

On June 7, Iowa Senate Democrats held an impromptu meeting to vote out former leader Zach Wahls, of Coralville, and replace him with Pam Jochum, of Dubuque. Some Democratic senators had been upset by Wahls’ firing of two longtime Senate Democratic caucus staffers.

The nature of Gronstal’s involvement in Senate Democrats’ leadership change was not detailed by the council or made public by Senate Democrats. But the two longtime staffers who were fired had worked for Gronstal when he was majority leader.

The council asked for Gronstal’s resignation the next day.

There are no rules that prohibit lobbyists from engaging in caucus business with lawmakers or caucus staff, according to joint rules that govern lobbyist activities in the Iowa Senate and House.

Gronstal was paid $35,000 annually to lobby for the council from 2019 to 2022, and was paid $15,000 in 2023, according to state lobbying records. Gronstal was removed as the group’s lobbyist Sunday, those records show.

The Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council officially registered on 54 bills during the 2023 session of the Iowa Legislature, statehouse lobbying records show.

Gronstal did not respond when asked for comment.

Gronstal served in the Iowa Legislature from 1983 to 2016. He became Senate majority leader in 2009 and held that title until he lost his re-election bid in 2016, when Democrats lost their majority in the Iowa Senate.

State law prohibits former state lawmakers from lobbying for two years after their last session in the Iowa Legislature. Gronstal began lobbying for the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council in 2019.

Staffing changes reversed

The two staffers who were fired by Wahls — Erik Bakker and Deb Kattenhorn — have been rehired and are once again working for Iowa Senate Democrats, a caucus spokesman confirmed.

And one staffer who Wahls had hired, Kaity Patchett, was fired by Jochum. Patchett previously worked in the office of former Central Iowa U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com