DES MOINES – Governor Reynolds has appointed a corporate attorney to a state commission that nominates candidates for positions on the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals.
On Friday, Reynolds named Dan Huitink to the state judicial nominating commission. A new law signed by the governor gave her the authority to appoint nine members of the 17-member state commission. Lawyers will elect eight.
Reynolds spoke to Local 5’s Sabrina Ahmed about the change in the law. She said it’s always been a political process.
“In the last 15 years, at the most, out of all of those positions, there has been one Republican and at many times, there were none,” said Reynolds. “So, it’s so ironic to me when people say that it is a power grab by the governor when you know what, it has always been that way, it has always been political, but it’s been lawyer politics instead of gubernatorial.”
Huitink is a lawyer for Vermeer Corp. in Pella and is a former assistant U.S. attorney. Campaign finance records show that he donated to Reynolds’ campaign.