Thoughts on the Seward, Yoder trials

The trial is over. While common sense prevailed, and the jury returned a verdict of ?Not Guilty?, we saw a side of the political process that we rarely brush up against at the local level when two Washington County residents, Jack Seward Jr. and Bob Yoder, were charged with political campaign ethics violations and went to trial Sept. 24-27. As the wife of one of these candidates, the past two months have been both eye-opening and thought-provoking.

Megan Tooker of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB) indicated in her trial testimony that reporting errors such as those being prosecuted in the Seward and Yoder trials are quite common across the state. She was also very clear in her testimony that an error is not a crime. The IECDB has effective procedures for working with errors in candidate reports. The established practice is to contact candidates with reporting errors and work with them individually to make corrections. If candidates receive dollars from a source they are not allowed to accept money from, they return it. If they transfer money to an entity that is not allowed to receive it, they correct the problem. If something is reported in the wrong column or on the wrong schedule, they fix it. These errors only become crimes when they are knowingly and intentionally committed or when a candidate flagrantly refuses to make the necessary corrections. If every county took the action that Washington County did in these cases, a truly exorbitant amount of taxpayer dollars, county government worker hours and juror time would be tied up in these innocuous cases and away from other far more serious matters. Yes, it is important to ensure that local, as well as state and national political campaigns remain as ethical and honest as possible, but we have a state-appointed board that has been funded and tasked with that work. Hopefully those making these decisions have learned from this experience that our local resources and tax dollars are far better invested by allowing the Ethics Board to do its job, with the county taking decisive action only upon this board?s recommendation after they have thoroughly investigated the situation and their actions have not seen the problem corrected.

Tooker also indicated that her greater concern in all of this is that other good people may hesitate to enter the political arena and run for an office in public service. It would indeed be very reasonable for potential candidates to hesitate in running for fear of encountering the legal antics that were at play in these cases.

I have never been particularly political. I do research all I can about a candidate?s character, beliefs and positions, and then vote my conscience in every election. My personal value stance dictates that I lean more toward the red than the blue, but I have spent the majority of my adult life registered as an Independent, mostly in hopes of keeping my name off the political call-lists so my precious time at home isn?t interrupted by annoying phone calls ahead of every election. But who we elect matters, on the local as well as the state and national levels.

As we enter the month of October and Election Day draws closer, I encourage everyone to search out the beliefs and values of candidates in every race. Many local elected positions, such as hospital and county conservation board members and our board of supervisors, are seen by some as non-partisan races, and to some extent this is true. It is also true, however, that party affiliation serves as a reflection of values. Candidates can sound off about what they believe could have or should have been done about particular issues and situations in the past. They cannot, however, accurately predict what the future holds and what decisions they may be called to make as that future unfolds. This is where party affiliation can be a helpful clue. Candidates typically align themselves with the party that most closely reflects their beliefs and values. Personal integrity and ethical behavior are also valuable clues into a candidate?s suitability for an elected public office. Character is revealed in our response when placed in the fire, and the upside of the Seward and Yoder trials was the character, ethics and honesty of these two candidates came shining through. While we may always be left to wonder at the identities of Moe and Curly, who convinced Larry that the criminal prosecution of these men was a good idea, the trial revealed these men for the honest, ethical and sincere men that they are. Listening to the character witnesses that spoke for each of these men testified that they are the ?real deal.? Honest men, with honorable intentions, who seek to serve the residents of this county in the role of Washington County Supervisors.

Glenda McDowell Seward