Fisher

DES MOINES — Earlier this week, Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) filed a formal response to an ethics complaint leveled against him by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) President Barbara Kalbach over his roles as a founder and board president of the newly created Tama-Toledo Christian School. Fisher, who campaigned in support of and voted for a bill that provides state money to the families of students who attend nonpublic schools, blasted the complaint as “clearly politically motivated” and urged the bipartisan House Ethics Committee to dismiss it with prejudice.

In his letter to the committee, Fisher said he learned of the complaint, which was filed on Feb. 28, through the media rather than “official channels.” The representative, who was first elected in 2012, felt that if Kalbach’s motivation had not been “to cause some sort of political problem for me,” she would have refrained from sharing it with news outlets until he had been afforded the chance to read it.

He then took aim at the allegations against him, which charge that he has attempted to “cash in” on the new Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Iowa through his leadership role with the K-8 school set to open in the fall of 2025 at the site of a former Catholic church building in Tama. The ESA program provides $7,635 in state funding per student who enrolls in a nonpublic school.

“Ms. Kalbach falsely alleges I violated the preamble to the House Code of Ethics by upholding a campaign promise to my constituents. Keeping promises is part of what the preamble encourages legislators to do,” Fisher wrote. “The remainder of her complaint fails to provide any facts that actually back her allegations and is entirely based on Ms. Kalbach’s apparent opposition to the legislation that was signed into law last year by Governor Reynolds. The complaint is clearly an attempt to use the Ethics Committee as a vehicle for her own political motivations.”

In its complaint, Iowa CCI calls on the ethics committee to tell Fisher that he cannot discuss, lobby for, or vote on any future legislation that continues or expands voucher benefits and tell all lawmakers they cannot use ESA money for private schools they are associated with or to send their children or grandchildren to a private school. When reached by the T-R on Friday, Fisher said he would wait until the committee meets to make further comments.

The ethics committee is comprised of three Republicans — Chair Anne Osmundson, Vice Chair Stan Gustafson and Henry Stone — and three Democrats — Ranking Member Ruth Ann Gaines, Monica Hosch Kurth and Rick Olson. At presstime, details on when Fisher’s hearing will be held were not available.

——

Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

harry@timesrepublican.com.