Branstad bird-dogged in Coon Rapids
Coon Rapids, IA --Patti Edwardson of Jefferson Iowa asked Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds to fire Iowa Regent Bruce Rastetter for ethics violations during a townhall meeting in Carroll County in Western Iowa Monday afternoon.
"I am a school teacher and like most teachers I try to teach my students about basic moral values including respect for others and for the environment, good character, and ethical conduct," Edwardson told the governor.
"Our state leaders are role models for our students. When my students return to school on August 23, will I be able to tell them that our governor upheld Iowa ethics laws and fired Bruce Ratstetter from the Board of Regents because of his ethics violations?"
Branstad briefly defended Rastetter and said he would wait for an Aug 23 ruling by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board before considering the matter further.
Last week, independent family farmer and small business owner Garry Klicker of Bloomfield, Iowa asked Governor Branstad a similar question during a townhall meeting in SE Iowa.
Iowa CCI members filed a conflict of interest complaint against Rastetter after emails released to the Associated Press show Rastetter used the office of the regents in an attempt to leverage Iowa State University's international reputation for a massive corporate land grab in Africa.
The plan could displace tens of thousands of refugees while making him and his investment partners hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-free profit.
The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board will decide whether or not to investigate Iowa CCI members' ethics complaint during their next board meeting at noon, August 23, in Des Moines.
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