Slockett will appeal state reprimand

IOWA CITY – Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett said Friday he is appealing a reprimand he received from the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

That board, which administers the state's campaign and ethics laws, voted 5-0 in May to issue a letter of reprimand to Slockett for using his phone to campaign from his office.

Iowa law prohibits the use of government resources, including office facilities and equipment, for political purposes.

Slockett, who lost the Democratic primary earlier this month, said in an interview the board's decision puts elected officials at a disadvantage to their opponents and they should be able to campaign with their cell phones. He said that's especially true for full-time politicians like him because they'd have to leave the grounds of their workplace to make campaign-related calls.

Slockett is auditor and elections commissioner, and he said it's not uncommon for him to work 60-hour weeks leading up to an election.

“I think if it isn't addressed now, it will have negative consequences on elected officials throughout the state,” he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is assisting Slockett in the appeal. The organization's legal director, Randall Wilson, said in a news release that it is important that elected officials can campaign as freely as their opponents.

“The protection of speech essential to the electoral process lies at the heart of democracy and everything the First Amendment was designed to protect,” he said.

Megan Tooker, executive director and legal counsel of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, said her office had not received an appeal as of 1:30 p.m. and declined to comment on the matter. (A copy of the appeal, provided by Slockett, is at the end of this story.)

The appeal process would include what is known as a contested hearing before the board, in which Slockett could provide formal testimony, offer exhibits and call witnesses.

During the board's investigation, Slockett acknowledged using his cell phone from his office to work on his campaign and said it's possible some people may have returned calls to his work phone. He said he was relying on the advice of the current and a former Johnson County attorney, and those attorneys said during the investigation that they had advised county employees that it is OK to use government resources for political purposes as long as there was no additional cost to the county.

The ethics board said state law prohibits that use regardless of whether there is an additional cost. Because Slockett relied on the advice of counsel, the board issued a reprimand, which is the least severe civil sanction.

The board dismissed two other alleged violations regarding Slockett and referred another, on circulating his re-election petition at work, to County Attorney Janet Lyness. That investigation is not finished, Lyness said.

Slockett lost to fellow Democrat Travis Weipert in the June primary. He has been Johnson County's auditor and elections commissioner since 1977, and he said he will not put up a challenge in the general election and will leave office when his term concludes at the end of this year.

In addition to the reprimand, Slockett battled reports this spring of questionable practices at work.

Appeal