<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">It is late but important.<div><br><br><div dir="ltr">Cindy Lou Ray<div>Sent from my iPhone</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> Cindy Ray <cindyray@gmail.com><br><b>Date:</b> July 25, 2023 at 2:04:37 PM CDT<br><b>To:</b> Cindy Ray <cindyray@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Fwd: Bleeding Heartland article</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><br><br><div dir="ltr">Cindy Lou Ray<div>Sent from my iPhone</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> shawnmmayo@gmail.com<br><b>Date:</b> July 7, 2023 at 2:48:17 PM CDT<br><b>To:</b> Cindy Ray <cindyray@gmail.com>, Dolinsek.Bettina@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> <b>Bleeding Heartland article</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Iowa governor names Emily Wharton to lead Department for Blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">list of 4 items<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Thursday, Jul 6 2023|<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Laura Belin|<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">0 Comments <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">list end<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Governor Kim Reynolds<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> has appointed<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> Emily Wharton to remain in charge at the Iowa Department for the Blind, effective July 1. Wharton has worked for the agency since 2013 and has served<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">as its director <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">since 2016.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">NEW POWER FOR THE GOVERNOR<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For generations, the Iowa Commission for the Blind (a three-member body appointed by the governor) had the authority to hire and fire the agency director.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But Reynolds' plan to restructure state government, which Republican lawmakers approved in March, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">gave that power to the governor.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The change was consistent with language giving Reynolds direct control over several other agency leaders not already serving "at the pleasure of the governor."<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But that idea didn't come from the outside consultant's<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> report on realigning Iowa government,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">commissioned by the Reynolds administration <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">at a cost of $994,000.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Blind Iowans turned out in large numbeers for state House and Senate subcommittee hearings on the bill and <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">uniformly spoke against the proposal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Staff for the governor acknowledged no one from Iowa's blind community was consulted about the planned reorganization. Pressed by state lawmakers, Reynolds'<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">legislative liaison Molly Severn <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">offered the following explanation:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">"If Iowans currently perceive a government official to be accountable to the governor, that official should be." The governor's staff did not respond to<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bleeding Heartland's inquiries about evidence suggesting Iowans had any such belief about the Department for the Blind director.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">DEMOCRATS OBJECTED TO CHANGE<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">During legislative debates on <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Senate File 514,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Democratic State Senator Tony Bisignano and State Representative Amy Nielsen offered amendments to remove <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the section covering the Department for the Blind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bisignano and more than a half-dozen House Democrats spoke passionately in favor of letting blind Iowans serving on the state commission continue to select<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the head of the agency. (Debate over the relevant amendments begins <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">at 5:51:30 of the Iowa Senate video<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> from March 7, and <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">at 1:30:20 of the Iowa House video<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> from March 15.) <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Though the chambers rejected the amendments, Republican State Senators <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tom Shipley and Brad Zaun joined Democratic colleagues<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> to support the effort, as did three GOP members of the House: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Eddie Andrews, Mark Cisneros, and David Young.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">State Representative Jane Bloomingdale, who floor-managed the reorganization plan in the House, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">addressed the controversy during her closing remarks.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She said she had just received a message from the governor's staff, assuring her nothing would change with the Department for the Blind. "The governor's<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">staff has committed to me that she will rehire or hire Director Wharton as soon as this bill becomes effective. So there will be no change," Bloomingdale<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">promised.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">REYNOLDS LEFT WHARTON'S SALARY UNCHANGED<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Wharton had gone off script <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">during an Iowa Senate subcommittee<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> meeting in February, predicting she would "most likely" not remain as director if the bill passed. She added, "I cannot say that this is good for blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Iowans. I cannot support that. I know that I'm not supposed to say that." Wharton was more circumspect when a House subcommittee heard public comments<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">on the same section.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reynolds signed Senate File 514 in early April. The <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">division relating to the Department for the Blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> took effect upon enactment, and required the governor to appoint a director "on or before July 1, 2023." <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The governor's office provided Bleeding Heartland <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">with a letter dated June 22,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">confirming Wharton's appointment. It's not clear whether Reynolds (who <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">left Iowa for a two-week international trade mission<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> on June 20) signed the letter before her departure, or whether staff used an auto-pen to affix her signature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The letter sets Wharton's annual salary at $97,460, which is the top of <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the allowable range<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> for <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">her position.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Wharton has been at that level <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">for the past four years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The realignment bill gave Reynolds the <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">power to set unlimited salaries<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> for the leaders of <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">sixteen cabinet-level agencies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">But it did not change the statutory salary range for other appointed positions, including leaders of departments that are no longer cabinet-level. (Those<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">salary ranges have not increased for more than a decade.) <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Wharton will manage a slightly larger agency; the fiscal year 2024 budget <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">allocated an additional $150,000<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> and one more full-time equivalent position to the Department for the Blind. However, Republican appropriators did not approve the agency's request for<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">$500,000 to create an Instructional Materials Center and fund monthly purchases of braille and large-print materials. As <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bleeding Heartland discussed here,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">that budgetary decision may leave blind or visually impaired students without access to high-quality materials in many K-12 school districts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND STILL DOWN ONE MEMBER<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">After being without a quorum for several months, the Iowa Commission for the Blind can conduct official business, but lacks a full contingent. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One board member retired in August 2022, and <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">another passed away in November,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">leaving only one of three positions filled. Reynolds finally <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">appointed Amy Salger in time for the board's scheduled quarterly meeting in March.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">She later appointed Michael Hoenig to serve, effective May 1. At this writing, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">one commissioner position remains unfilled.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Salger and Hoenig are both registered Republicans, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">according to the state's official website<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> on boards and commissions. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Reynolds has pursued a similar strategy in other areas of state government, leaving vacancies on various boards where she would need to name non-Republicans<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">to comply with Iowa's <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">law on political affiliations for appointed bodies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">For example, the three-member Public Employment Relations Board <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">operated with two Republicans and one vacancy<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> for more than a year and a half. According to the <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">state's website,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">the <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">ten-member Iowa Board of Medicine<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> currently has five Republicans, three no-party voters, and two vacancies. The <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">five-member Health Facilities Council<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> has one Republican, two no-party voters, and two vacancies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Top photo by Laura Belin: Iowa Department for the Blind Director Emily Wharton listens at a February 2023 Iowa Senate subcommittee on the state government<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">reorganization plan.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tags: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Amy Nielsen,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Amy Salger,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">analysis,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Brad Zaun,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">David Young,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Disabilities,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Eddie Andrews,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Emily Wharton,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">exclusive,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jane Bloomingdale,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Kim Reynolds,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mark Cisneros,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Michael Hoenig,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">news,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">State Government,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tom Shipley,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tony Bisignano<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">article end<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Login<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> or <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Join<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> to comment and post.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">ShareThis Copy and Paste<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></body></html>