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Branstad Appointees Under Fire

The head of an  Iowa Senate committee  looking into the hiring and firing practices of the Branstad  administration is warning that the governor’s department heads may   face tough prospects for reappointment in the Iowa Senate.    

The democratic-controlled Senate Oversight  committee Tuesday released its recommendations which one minority Republican called political theater.  

The committee subpoenaed  witnesses from across the Branstad administration.   Their recommendations include new whistleblower protections for state workers, and due process for workers placed on a do not hire list.    Iowa Workforce Development Director Teresa Wahlert came under scrutiny.   Des Moines democrat Janet Peterson questions whether the Iowa Senate will reconfirm her if Governor Branstad is re-elected and asks Wahlert to stay on.

"I don’t  see a pathway for her to be reappointed.  I don't think the state of Iowa should tolerate that type of leadership," Peterson says. 

Democrats questioned IWD policy which they say politicized Iowa’s  worker’s unemployment compensation  system.   Peterson says  other Branstad managers might also have trouble  winning  reconfirmation.    The committee called witnesses  from the Department of Administrative  Services and  the Public Employment  Relations Board.