DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - For the second time this year, the Iowa Association of School Boards is facing criticism after an employee publicly supported a Republican elected official.
A flyer for Rep. Walt Rogers’ campaign features association lobbyist Emily Piper praising him as a champion for education who helped “pass some of the most significant and needed pieces of legislation I’ve ever seen.”
Democratic Rep. Sharon Steckman, the education committee’s ranking member, objected to Piper’s endorsement of a partisan candidate. In a letter to the association, she noted Rogers was a proponent of private school vouchers.
The association said it was “absolutely non-partisan” earlier this year, when lawyer Anna Bergman was fired for writing an op-ed praising Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Association director Lisa Bartusek says Piper thanked Rogers for supporting some of the group’s priorities, but shouldn’t have allowed her comments to be featured in his flyer. She says the association apologizes, and Rogers will stop using the quote.
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