A Lake City Council candidate’s campaign letter to voters has caused concern among residents about potential ethics violations. Last week, Councilwoman, Tami Green, sent a letter outlining her work for the city. This included the announcement of a new chief for the Lake City Police Department, Dan Schaffer. Officials have been working for nearly a year to find a new person to lead the department, but formal approval was not on the agenda until the Monday, Nov. 1 meeting. Prior to this, nearly all discussions on the hiring process and potential candidates were held in closed session. Calhoun County Attorney, Tina Farrington, says this appears to be a violation of Iowa’s closed session laws.
Rumors had already been circulating in the community that Schaffer was to become the department’s new chief, but the issue is the council had not formally approved his contract or made the hire publicly known. Green says including the announcement in her letter was a mistake.
Green says she did not have any ill-intent, calling it a simple oversight.
Because the letter was sent as part of Green’s campaign, it could be considered a campaign ethics violation for using privileged knowledge to influence voters. Carroll Broadcasting has reached out to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board for clarification and will bring you more information as it becomes available.
