Iowa's only Democrat in statewide office has been in the news a lot lately, primarily as a result of Republican efforts to hamstring his office's authority. Recently his office made news here in Eagle Grove, when it issued its reaudit report on the city, centering on the Rec Center project. Sand's investigation was prompted by the Eagle Grove group calling themselves the "Betterment Committee" – whose most vocal members have staked out far right Republican positions on several issues. Which just goes to show how true the old saying "politics makes strange bedfellows" really is.
Following the reaudit report the Eagle spoke with Auditor Sand by phone about the reaudit, as well as Republican efforts to curtail his ability to conduct such investigations. Efforts embodied in legislation now awaiting Governor Reynolds' signature, known as Senate File 478 (S.F. 478).
Asked what was so problematic about S.F. 478 was, Sand responded, "The biggest problem is that it invites corruption by destroying checks and balances on the Executive branch." How the legislation removes those checks and balances on the Governor's office, Sand explained, was by removing the Auditor's access to the courts, and instead forcing investigators to go through an arbitration panel which Sand said "is stacked from the word go against transparency." By law the makeup of the panel, Sand explained, is one person from the Auditor's office, one person from the agency being audited, and one person from the Governor's office. So, whenever that agency being investigated is one that answers to the Governor's office, or is in league with the Governor's office politically, "it's basically two to one" Sand said.
And that, Sand said, invites corruption – if not now, in the future. "You give them the power to bury the waste, fraud and abuse that happens on their watch," Sand warned, " and sooner or later someone is going to take you up on that offer."
In a way, although it's a city and not the Governor's office or an agency in the Executive Branch of state government that was audited, the Eagle Grove reaudit was a good example of that. Even though only minor non-financial conflicts of interest (or the appearance of the same) were uncovered, it is the Auditor's power to conduct such investigations which compelled the city to cooperate with the investigation. And likewise to make certain changes based on the Auditor's recommendations following it.
If Republicans seeking to declaw Sand's office have their way, no one would have that power where the Governor's office, and their political allies were concerned. Which could potentially include a mayor with ties to the Governor.
"This has a lot more to do with deterring corruption," Sand said, "and making sure we have systems in place to prevent corruption. And that, to me, is why this is a terrible idea. Because it encourages corruption by making it harder to uncover." And that includes in the future, when perhaps a Democrat is governor, and the auditor might be a Republican.
That's something that Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley paid lip service to even as he led the charge to gut the power of the Auditor's office. “We have to keep in mind that just like I won’t be here forever, Gov. Reynolds, Sen. Whitver, Rob Sand, whoever — there’s going to be elections, there’s going to be new people in these offices," Grassley had said, adding, "and we would expect, regardless of party, for them to abide by the expectation of what should be in those audits.”
Asked if, in light of Grassley's statement, the attacks on him are about him being the only Democrat in statewide office, or about a more sinister agenda to enable future corruption, even if a Republican were in the Auditor's office, Sand said "it's both."
It's not just that he's a Democrat, Sand asserted, but because he's an effective auditor that has "uncovered more waste, fraud and abuse than any other State Auditor," and "they don't like that."
"It's partially because I'm a democrat, but it's partially because I have the guts to take them on and investigate things they don't want me to investigate," Sand said. "If they had a democrat in this office who was too scared to do the job the way it needs to be done, they might not be doing this."
