Thousands in Iowa candidates’ unpaid fines a focus of new state oversight board leader

DES MOINES — Zach Goodrich says that at 21 years old, while still in law school, he knew that he wanted to make an impact by serving in state government. He just wasn’t sure how or where.

Then Megan Tooker, then the director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board — that state board that provides oversight of Iowa’s campaign finance laws — spoke to Goodrich’s class. Suddenly, Goodrich was no longer unsure of where he wanted to serve.

“After Megan spoke, I knew I wanted to work for this agency,” Goodrich said.

And now Goodrich would like to make some significant — and he believes critical changes — to the agency. One area of particular concern for him is the tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines owed by candidates to the state board.

“It’s a very small part of state government, but getting to lead the agency and change it for the better is extremely rewarding,” Goodrich said. “I took over at a time when we needed to do several once-in-a-generation changes, so it’s exciting to reform everything in a top-to-bottom overhaul.”

Goodrich is in his second year as executive director and legal counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, where records show his base salary in fiscal 2022 was $77,000. A seventh-generation Iowan and graduate of Simpson College and Drake University Law School, Goodrich is 27 years old.

Goodrich interned for the state board during law school. Before returning to the board, he worked as legal counsel to the Iowa Public Information Board, which provides oversight of the state’s open records and meetings laws.

Goodrich said working for the campaign finance board allows him to do work that he feels honors the legacy of one of his biggest professional role models, former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray. Goodrich also credits his predecessors, including Tooker, as well as current board Chair James Albert for building the board’s reputation as, Goodrich said, serving Iowans in an impartial fashion while focusing on the law.

“This position provides an opportunity to serve the public and do meaningful work by helping hold those in, and running for, government positions accountable to the high standards their positions and the public require of them,” Goodrich said. “I like that this agency does things the way (Gov. Ray) did: We don’t care about playing politics. We care about doing what’s best for the state we serve.”

One way Goodrich wants the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to better serve Iowans is to help it better enforce violations of the state’s campaign finance laws. And one way the board can do that is by following through on fines issued by the board.

Dating to 2018, more than 240 Iowa campaign finance fines totaling $27,520 remain unpaid, according to a Sept. 28 memo prepared by Goodrich for the board. There are unpaid fines that date back even further — including some to the 1990s — but they would be impractical to attempt to recoup, Goodrich’s memo said.

Three-fourths of those fines are owed by campaigns for seats in the Iowa Legislature, according to Goodrich’s memo.

Goodrich said it is not just the unpaid fines that concern him, but also what he described as a lackadaisical attitude toward campaign finance law compliance by some Iowa politicians. He said among the unpaid fines is one case in which a government employee accepted thousands of dollars in illegal gifts in exchange for preferential treatment from the state agency, and another in which, Goodrich said, a politician knowingly filed false campaign reports to cover up who was funding the campaign and how the money was being spent.

In the latter case, Goodrich said the politician told Goodrich that people at the Iowa Capitol said to not worry about laws enforced by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board because there are no real consequences.

“I’m concerned of the dismissive attitude that far too many people in positions of power have toward Iowa’s ethics and campaign laws. I’m especially concerned that state law allows them to get away with not caring about following the ethics and campaign laws,” Goodrich said. “Most public servants and candidates for public office comply without the threat of consequences because they want to do what’s right and they feel a responsibility to the public. But in the instances where someone lacks any sense of public duty or personal integrity, we need strong laws and effective enforcement to hold them accountable.”

Goodrich and the board have already taken some steps to address the unpaid fines. Notices of fines now request payment within 30 days and second and third notices were added. Campaigns also are now alerted when logging into the state’s online campaign finance reporting system, and a unified system for tracking fines was created.

Goodrich said those changes have brought some success: nearly 1,000 previously unpaid fines over the past three state budget years were paid, he said.

However, Goodrich said, the law needs more teeth. During this past legislative session, Goodrich and the board proposed legislation that would have allowed the board to have the state transportation department suspend the guilty party’s driver’s license. The Iowa Judicial Branch has a similar system for unpaid court fees, Goodrich’s memo said.

“I believe that if we have laws, we should actually enforce them, otherwise get rid of them,” Goodrich said. “In this instance, the laws serve an important purpose and shouldn’t be repealed. Here, the laws should be enforced because it’s important to hold government officials and political insiders accountable. … “It’s not just a problem for the laws we enforce. It’s problematic for the respect and rule of law in general.”

Goodrich said that he will present a legislative proposal to the board at its November meeting. The proposal would add into state law a deadline for paying penalties issued by the board, and consequences for those who “knowingly” refuse to pay.

“If an ordinary Iowan gets a parking ticket and doesn’t pay, there are real consequences. But if government officials and political insiders refuse to pay a penalty for violating the law designed to hold them accountable, there is no real consequence,” Goodrich said. “That needs to change.”

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