Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board fines Waterloo mayor

DES MOINES - The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board fined Waterloo Mayor Buck Clark $100 for using his government email for political and personal uses.

Clark, who is serving his third term as mayor, wrote in an email that had not heard directly from the board, but 'if that is in fact the case, I will accept the ethics board's recommendation, pay the fine and get on with much more important City business.”

Board members discussed the case behind closed doors during their afternoon meeting in Des Moines and opened up the meeting to relay their decisions.

'The board found (the allegations) to be major ones,” board chairman Jim Albert said. 'A civil penalty was deemed appropriate.”

The board has the authority to reprimand, start remedial action and/or levy fines of up to $500 without a hearing. A person who disagrees with the action can request a hearing.

Bill Kammeyer, a former Waterloo School Board member, filed the complaint against Clark in March.

Kammeyer included five emails he thought ethically were suspect in the complaint. They were:

'An Oct. 13-14 communication with Black Hawk County Democratic Party Chair Pat Sass regarding campaign phone calling for himself and council candidates Pat Morrissey and Tavis Hall.

'An Oct. 21 email with UAW official Charlie Larson and Clark regarding yard sign placement and UAW support.

'An Oct. 8 communication with Gary and Pat Miller regarding in-kind donations of campaign materials.

'An Oct. 7 communication with Councilwoman Carolyn Cole regarding television advertisements.

'An Oct. 21 communication with Mary Potter, of the Church Row Neighborhood Association, outlining locations for Clark's campaign yard signs.

'Today the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board confirmed what I alleged months ago, that Mayor Buck Clark has used Waterloo taxpayer resources for political purposes,” Kammeyer wrote in a prepared statement released Wednesday afternoon. 'Whereas I am extremely happy with today's ruling, I know that the documents that were reviewed were only a small sample of what is hiding in the computers at City Hall. I call on all citizens of Waterloo to take a stand and demand that our city government gets back to work for the people and not special interests.”

In other business, the board decided to hold a hearing on a complaint involving former Johnson County Auditor and Election Commissioner Tom Slockett.

The case, first brought roughly two years ago, centered on Slockett using his office to conduct campaign business on his personal cellphone.

In ordering the hearing, the board rejected an offer of summary judgment from an administrative law judge that said Slockett did not violate statute.

Albert called the administrative law judge ruling 'inappropriate” for the case.

'In the opinion of the board, these were all very significant issues and thought it would be appropriate for the entire board to hear the case,” he said.

A date for Slockett's hearing was not immediately set.