Conflict Of Interest: Iowa Democrats Hammer Joni Ernst Over Contracts Awarded To Her Father

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/10/09/conflict-interest-iowa-democrats-hammer-joni-ernst-contracts-awarded-father.html

Conflict Of Interest: Iowa Democrats Hammer Joni Ernst Over Contracts Awarded To Her Father
By: Justin Baragona
Thursday, October, 9th, 2014, 3:39 pm


Republican Senate Candidate Joni Ernst could be in some hot water over county public contracts awarded to her father’s company when she served as the county’s auditor. Ernst, who is running against Democrat Bruce Braley for Iowa’s open US Senate seat, served as the Montgomery County auditor from 2004 to 2011, when she was elected as a state senator. In 2009 and 2010, Ernst’s father’s company, Culver Construction, was awarded six county contracts worth over $215,000. Last week, the American Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint with Iowa Attorney General Tim Miller, asking him if there was a clear conflict of interest in the awarding of the contracts.

Salon ran a piece by Luke Brinker about the potential conflict of interest earlier this week. Brinker argued that based on a reading of the laws of Iowa, it is quite possible that Ernst was indeed in violation of conflict of interest codes.

Snip/Video @ link~

Currently, this is one of the closest races in the country. The last four polls that have been released all have the candidates within two points of each other. The last one released shows it as a dead heat. Ernst has branded herself as a Tea Party darling in the mold of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. She rose to national prominence with a campaign ad where she claimed that she grew up castrating hogs on a farm and that she’d go to Washington to “make ‘em squeal.”

Since then, she’s had Palin, Mitt Romney and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), among others, stop through Iowa and campaign for her. She’s also been helped by a gaffe Braley made earlier this year where he seemed to insult farmers, which is a big no-no in corn country. However, despite the GOP pulling out the big guns for her, it appears that Ernst’s extremist ideology has limited her appeal. In a swing state like Iowa, going far to the right may not be the best course of action. This potential scandal, if it has legs, might be the tipping point for voters and lead them over to the Democrat.

Link to Salon article:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025635075

[Cha]

1. Keep Hammering, Dems! thanks babylonsistah!

[greatlaurel]

2. Very good post. Thanks!

The GOP crooks here in Ohio are getting away with raiding state tax dollars and properties as quickly as they can. It is really OK to steal from the public if you are a Republican. Ernst fits right in.