Culver campaign accuses Branstad of using governor's office for campaign work

The re-election campaign for Democratic Gov. Chet Culver is accusing opponent and former governor Terry Branstad and his aides of improperly using the governor's office for fundraising and other campaign activities in previous decades.

Culver's campaign scoured through boxes of documents from Branstad's tenure as governor that are held in the state archives. They say the documents they found show Branstad abused the power of the governor's office, which he held from 1983-1999.

The Culver campaign released the documents as it sought to counter a new television ad from Branstad's that says change is coming for Iowans who want “honest, open and scandal-free government.”

“The truth is that the record doesn't meet the rhetoric,” said Culver Campaign Manager Donn Stanley.

The Culver campaign is citing a law that makes it illegal for state employees or officials to engage in campaign work during the hours of their employment.

Some of the documents the Culver campaign highlighted include a 1984 letter thanking a donor for a $200 contribution to the GOP legislative campaign committee.

The letter purportedly is printed on official governor's office letterhead and signed by Branstad. Another similar letter thanking a donor for a contribution to the Republican Party was from 1983.

The Culver campaign also unearthed a letter from Iowa's Office for State-Federal Relations in 1988 about a fundraising dinner for Republican governors.

Another document that appears to be from former Branstad aide Doug Gross outlining 1986 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lowell Junkins' legislative record. A memo details “Junkins' Flip-Flops.”

The Culver campaign said the documents they found also show state resources were used on other GOP political campaigns, pointing to a draft of fundraising letter for a congressional campaign and edited radio scripts touting Republican legislative candidates.

In a written statement, Branstad Campaign Manager Jeff Boeyink did not directly address the specific allegations but called the attack “as sad and pathetic as Chet Culver's four years as governor.”

“Chet Culver and his campaign can spend their time wallowing in the past, while Terry Branstad is looking to the future and committed to open, honest and transparent government,” Boeyink said.

Charles Smithson, executive director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, said Iowa campaign laws didn't address the use of public resources for political purposes until the early 1990s.

Current state law says state resources cannot be used for campaign purposes. In today's environment, writing letters about campaign financing on state letterhead would be considered improper, Smithson said.