Iowa Democratic Party FOIAs Dave Jamison Sexual Harassment Info

The Iowa Democratic Party filed a Freedom Of Information Act with Governor Kim Reynolds’ office today to acquire more information in the case of Dave Jamison’s firing over sexual harassment allegations. Jamison was fired by Reynolds from his job as the director of the Iowa Finance Authority on Saturday after she was informed of “credible allegations of sexual harassment” against him. The victims came straight to the governor’s office rather than working through reporting channels within the department.

Reynolds has not disclosed much additional information about the matter, including how many people Jamison was alleged to have harassed or even what the nature of the sexual harassment was. Iowa Democrats are now seeking answers to some of the remaining questions surrounding Jamison.

“If the Governor wants to send a strong message on sexual harassment, the people of Iowa deserve to know what that message is,” IDP Chair Troy Price said in a statement. “At the very least, state employees deserve to know what kind of behavior will get them dismissed. We are not asking the Governor to reveal the names of the brave women who came forward, we’re simply seeking greater transparency around this very serious issue.”

Iowa Democrats provided a copy of the FOIA request to Starting Line, which requests several pieces of information from the governor’s office. Here’s the wording from their FOIA request:

• Hiring Records of Dave Jamison as the Executive Director of the Iowa Finance Authority: I am requesting copies of all applications, resumes, curriculum vitae, background checks, work history verifications, recommendation letters, and any other materials collected or produced related to the hiring of Dave Jamison as the Executive Director of the Iowa Finance Authority.

• Personnel File of Dave Jamison: I am requesting a copy of Dave Jamison’s personnel file (as Executive Director of the Iowa Finance Authority). Please note that responsive records should include performance evaluations, supervisor recommendations, human resources notes/reports, and disciplinary history (including allegations, investigations, and summary reports).

• Emails Between the Governor’s Office and the Iowa Finance Authority Regarding Harassment: I am requesting copies of all incoming-and-outgoing email correspondence between employees of the Iowa Office of the Governor and the Iowa Finance Authority regarding the subject of harassment since May 24, 2017.

• Emails of the Governor’s Office Regarding Harassment or the Termination of Dave Jamison: I am requesting copies of all incoming-and-outgoing email correspondence of employees of the Iowa Governor’s Office (including the Governor herself) regarding the subject of harassment and the termination of Dave Jamison since May 24, 2017.

• Governor Reynolds’ Schedules, Call Logs, and Emails: I am requesting copies of all of Governor Kim Reynolds’ schedules, call logs, and incoming-and-outgoing email correspondence from March 23, 2018, to March 24, 2018.

The party further asked for legal justifications on any requested documents that were denied.

At her Monday press conference, Reynolds characterized her firing of Jamison as sending “a really strong message” that she won’t tolerate sexual harassment. However, she also refused to release many of the details, saying she was doing so out of respect for the victims’ privacy.

Reynolds had a somewhat different stance when it was the Senate Republicans who were withholding their report on own their sexual harassment matter last November.

“I understand that we need to be cognizant of personal information, but I think there’s a way to do that where you can protect personal information,” Reynolds said at the time as she encouraged then-Senator Bill Dix to release their internal report.

Jamison and Reynolds are old friends, going back to their time as county treasurers. Jamison was hired as the executive director of the Iowa Finance Board back in January of 2011 as Terry Branstad returned to office. Jamison had appeared with Reynolds at a press conference just a few weeks ago.

FOIA requests in Iowa typically get completed in about ten to twenty days.

by Pat Rynard
Posted 3/27/18