Capitol Notebook: State senator calls ethics complaint against her ‘politically motivated’

State Sen. Molly Donahue, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, called an ethics complaint filed against her “politically motivated.”

The complaint was discussed Wednesday during a meeting of the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee. After a roughly 40-minute meeting, the deadlocked committee took no action.

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The complaint was filed by Matt Rollinger, of Cedar Rapids. Rollinger is a member of the Linn-Mar school board but said he filed the complaint on his own behalf, not as a member of any group.

Rollinger’s complaint cites an Aug. 6 social media post in which Donahue criticized a new state law, passed earlier this year by Iowa statehouse Republicans, that in part requires schools to receive parental permission before referring to a student by any name other than the one under which the student is registered.

Donahue, who teaches in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said in her post that she “will call any child I encounter in my classroom, in the school, and in the community what they ask to be called, with or without a parent letter — because that is the right thing to do — and this among so many other GOP initiatives, is harmful and ridiculous.”

In his complaint, Rollinger asserts that Donahue’s post shows her willingness to violate state law, which he said violates the Iowa Senate Code of Ethics, which states in part that legislators must “encourage respect for the law” and “strive to avoid both unethical and illegal conduct.”

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In her written response, Donahue called the complaint “false and politically motivated,” and that it is “meritless on its face” because she said she has not violated any state laws. Donahue implored the ethics committee to dismiss the complaint.

The Senate Ethics Committee is comprised of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. After discussing the complaint, Republicans voted to notify Donahue that no action will be taken, pending more evidence coming to light in the future. Democrats rejected that motion, and instead moved to dismiss the complaint, which Republicans rejected.

With neither motion gaining enough votes to pass, the committee adjourned without taking action.

It is the second ethics complaint filed this year against Donahue. The previous complaint was filed over objections to another social media poast. In this one, she referred to the parental rights advocacy group Moms for Liberty and other similar groups as “terrorists.”

That complaint was dismissed by the ethics committee on a unanimous vote.