Former employee filed complaint with state against Johnson auditor

A former Johnson County deputy auditor who resigned Monday is the person who filed a formal complaint Wednesday with the state against county Auditor Tom Slockett.

Megan Tooker, executive director and legal counsel at the Iowa Ethics and Campaign and Disclosure Board, released the complaint Thursday morning.

Nathan Reckman filed the complaint against his former boss. Reckman was deputy auditor for minutes from May 2011 until his resignation this week to take a job as an attorney. See a copy of the complaint below.

Reckman lists four incidents that he believes show Slockett, a Democrat, used public resources in support of his re-election campaign. Slockett is running for another term and faces a challenge in the June Democratic primary.

Slockett Complaint 1

It is illegal to use public resources for political purposes. That includes public time, property or facilities.

“I feel like the rules are there for a reason and it's unfair for him (Slockett) to get an advantage from his position," Reckman said in an interview.

Reckman alleges:

• On April 6, after Slockett and his opponent, Travis Weipert, appeared at an event to talk about their qualifications, Slockett sent an email from his county email account to county staff saying Weipert “blasted me for not making it easy enough for students and minorities to vote.” He suggested expanding satellite voting opportunities. Reckman included a copy of the email in his complaint.
• On March 5, Slockett circulated his re-election petition at work and pressured employees to sign it.
• In April, Slockett made “numerous calls” from work to arrange his campaign committee and to contact supporters. Reckman said he answered calls for Slockett from Lois Cox and Clara Oleson, who have published letters to the editor in support of Slockett.
• Slockett this month changed a longtime policy on how voter records are released in a way that made it easier for Cox to obtain Weipert's record, which showed Weipert had at one time registered as a Republican. Cox then included that information in a letter to the editor.

Slockett did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Reckman said he received good performance reviews and is not a disgrunteled employee. He also said morale in the Auditor's Office is "not very good at all"

“I don't think there are many people in the office that would support his re-election," he said.

Tooker would not discuss the complaint. The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board meets Friday in Des Moines and is expected to decide whether to dismiss the complaint or investigate the allegations.

Reckman said he hopes the board investigates and at least reprimands Slockett.