The Mike Blouin gubernatorial camp is abuzz with its latest round of fundraising success, although the optimism is guarded, as most of the $400,000 he's picked up is merely "committed" and cannot be delivered until 30 days after the current legislative session is complete (Iowa rules state candidates for governor cannot take dollars from PACs or restricted donors until then). So with 36 days until the primary, that means the Blouin campaign will be forced to take out loans in order to stay competitive television-wise with Chet Culver. "We'll be up as much as Chet," said a confident campaign source. "But we're waiting for the session to end." But are Republican legislators stalling to keep Blouin from getting too cash heavy? A source close to the Jim Nussle campaign told us a few months ago that Nussle would prefer to face Culver (or Ed Fallon) because Blouin could pull some moderate Republicans away from Nussle, who pandered to the extreme right with his selecting Bob Vander Plaats as his running mate and alienated heavy hitters like Jim Cownie and Bill Krause, while making the Bob Ray Republicans nervous by being so extreme. And it's happening. "We have had any number of five-figure checks coming in from big Republicans," said a Blouin source. "That's money we don't have to wait on. But there's a large chunk sitting out there we can't touch." A Nussle insider said the conspiracy theory of Republican legislators keeping the session going so Blouin can't cash in is "a joke." "If Vilsack, who is obviously supporting Blouin, spent a little time here, [the session] would be wrapped up. You sound like one of those blogs."

In other Nussle/Blouin news, the Iowans for Tax Relief have been bad-mouthing Nussle as an "out-of-control" spender who doesn't understand Iowa culture. Whether they would abandon Nussle (who has carried the water of a Bush administration that inherited no deficit when Bill Clinton left office and has butchered the bottom line) depends on who he faces. If it's Blouin, we've been told, there could be some quiet support.

The South Side Machine, led by brothers Johnny and Michael Mauro and batting about .500 over the past five years, are "all-in" with Blouin, which is no surprise. But what is surprising is that the crew, often referred to as "La Machina," seems to be doing some quiet supporting of Republican Congressional candidate Jeff Lamberti. Lamberti, whose father Don gave the Italian American Center $250,000 last year, has been trying to call off the dogs with regards to Mauro and other La Machina members during the CIETC scandal, while Lamberti's opponent Leonard Boswell has sat idly by. "Worst case scenario for Lamberti," said a source close to the machine, "is that we stay out of it entirely" - which could be trouble for Boswell.

Following the last city council meeting, several members gave this publication differing stories regarding Michael Kiernan's opinion on the CIETC fiasco. Most council members don't get too caught up in Kiernan's "chameleon" antics, as they have gotten used to it over time. More importantly, it has been pointed out to us, they seem to ignore his shenanigans altogether, as Kiernan "has absolutely no impact on the council, other than delivering a vote whenever fellow councilmember Chris Hensley needs one, or one of his big-money Republican donors asks for help." But this, we're told, was "pathetic." "Mike was constantly changing his story in the back of the council chambers," a source close to the CIETC dustup told us. "After working with Hensley and calling the media to alert the community they were going to call for Archie's [Brooks] resignation from the CIETC board, Kiernan got cold feet." Kiernan pleaded for Mayor Frank Cownie to believe he did not authorize the use of his name in the media and that he wasn't sure that Archie should even resign, drawing ire for his flip-flopping. Moments after speaking with Cownie, though, Kiernan met with other council members and began taking credit for what he called his "bold" move to force Tom Vlassis off the board as well. "This shows just how little knowledge this kid has of how things get done," a city insider told us. "Kiernan claimed that he would not have joined in and led the Republican call for Democratic resignations except that Vlassis told him he was not resigning." A source close to the mayor, though, said that Vlassis had already shared his resignation letter with the mayor, that Vlassis was planning to resign, but Vlassis didn't trust some of his colleagues (Kiernan and Chris Hensley) with that private news. Turns out Vlassis was right not to trust Kiernan.

Kiernan and Hensley are nowhere near the driver's seat on this CIETC issue or any other issue at city hall, we're told. (Hensley's plan to "throw Brooks under the bus" was to help her try to take command of the council again. With him gone, she might be able to find four votes.) And her effort to take credit in the Register for things that she has had no impact on further alienates herself from the rest of the council. One councilmember put it this way: "The same greed and self-centeredness that led to the CIETC scandal is the same greed and self-centeredness that causes someone to constantly grandstand in the paper." Kiernan, another councilmember said, seems to be the one who has been used and still does not see it. "Hensley is trying to create a rationale for running for mayor again. She has been delivered a slogan to 'clean up local politics.' But she needs a colleague to jump on it with her." Kiernan, we're told, has taken the bait, and has decided his own political career is better off with Hensley in control, and Mauro, Brooks, (Angela) Connolly and Vlassis sacrificed for a little press - despite his trying to cozy up to Mauro for months. "Kiernan," a source said, "will learn, like everyone does eventually, that he is simply a tool for Hensley to use. (As a Republican, she isn't alienating anyone by attacking.) Not to mention, Brooks and Mauro could kill Nicole Brown Simpson and not give up their respective seats." Just a few years ago, Kiernan was talked about as a future leader in the community, in the Democratic Party and having a career in politics. But with two years under his belt, no significant contributions or accomplishments, and alienating the heart of the party while biting many hands that could feed him make his "public service" future appear bleak.

West Des Moines City Councilmember Loretta Sieman found herself in the middle of the CIETC scandal, too. She is the former chair of the MPO, of which Archie Brooks is the former treasurer. Archie resigned from that entity recently, and over a lunch that followed his leaving, the MPO Executive Committee speculated as to how that position might be filled. Sieman, using her position as former chair, called the Register to claim the resignation was the result of an effort undertaken by herself and her friend and confidant Hensley; and the daily reported in its headline that Brooks was "ousted" by the board. However, the board did not need to take action, as Brooks had already resigned. It seems, according to a board member, Hensley forgot to give Sieman a new set of talking points.

The Iowa Legislative Joint Oversight Committee has spent a great deal of time this session talking about the CIETC scandal and the issue of "nepotism," causing some Polk County folks to bristle and point the finger back at state leaders for hiring their own kin, as reported in the daily's "Iowa Ear" column last week. Here's the breakdown of who is on the state's tit:

House Members who employed a relative in Fiscal Year 2005: 18

Clarice Alons, wife of Dwayne Alons, earned $7,742.28; Cheryl Arnold, wife of Richard Arnold, earned $7,514.91; Brad Bell, son of Paul Bell, earned $6,927.97; Shirley Drake, wife of Jack Drake, earned $8,698.52; Lynn Hoffman, wife of Clarence Hoffman, earned $7,622.05; Kay Jenkins, wife of Willard Jenkins, earned $7,622.05; Janet Jones, wife of Gerald Jones, earned $7,287.97; Robert Kaufmann, son of Jeff Kaufmann, earned $6,822.14; Alex Kuhn, son of Mark Kuhn, earned $7,065.77; Deb Lalk, wife of David Lalk, earned $7,512.89; Linda McCarthy, mother of Kevin McCarthy, earned $4,223.22; Martha Raecker, wife of Scott Raecker, earned $7,742.28; Melodie Schueller, wife of Tom Schueller, earned $6,572.87; Diane Shoultz, wife of Don Shoultz, earned $7,887.97; Rosemary Thomas, wife of Roger Thomas, earned $7,182.20; Jessica Van Fossen, daughter of James Van Fossen, earned $6,758.49; Anita Wendt, wife of Roger Wendt, earned $7,182.20; and Donna Whitead, wife of Wesley Whitead, earned $6,253.61.

Senate Members that employed a relative in Fiscal Year 2005: 17

Anne Burnett, daughter of Dennis Black, earned $9,224.84; David Boettger, husband of Nancy Boettger, earned $5,740.25; Martha Connolly, wife of Michael Connolly, earned $8,157.60; Donna Courtney, wife of Tom Courtney, earned $8,296.44; Delora Fraise, wife of Eugene Fraise, earned $10,190.76; Geraldine Anne Gaskill, wife of Thurman Gaskill, earned $8,727.16; Phyllis Peterson, wife of Wally Horn, earned $8,704.24; Paula Houser, wife of Hubert Houser, earned $8,314.04; Vicki Iverson, wife of Stewart Iverson, earned $28,221.60 (The Iversons pulled down more than $80,000 combined for their part-time gig); Kathryn Kibbie (as "Confidential Secretary" to the Senate President, her husband Jack Kibbie) earned $17,222; Erin Kreiman, daughter of Keith Kreiman, earned $6,758.50 as a House secretary, while his other daughter, Krista, earned $8,231.32 as Keith's secretary; Jennifer Larson, wife of Charles Larson, earned $5,508.36; Katie McKibben, daughter of Larry McKibben, earned $8,256.48; Emily Putney, wife of John Putney, earned $8,606.28; Jennie Lou Stewart, wife of Roger Stewart, earned $8,138.72; and Carol Wieck, wife of Ronald Wieck, earned $8,237.60.

Said one top-ranking Senate staffer of the CIETC oversight committee hearings: "The reason they want to talk about nepotism so much is because it's actually something they're all experts on."

Speaking of nepotism, CIETC whistleblower Kelly Taylor, who earns $70,297 annually at Iowa Workforce Development, likely sees a few familiar faces around the water cooler. According to state records, Reyna Immerfall, Taylor's daughter, earns $38,296.00 annually at IWD, her husband, Craig Immerfall, earns $46,836, and his other daughter, Veronica Taylor, earns $28,558. Taylor, a registered Republican, came out last week in full support of Nussle's idea for a state inspector general. "He's protected from losing his job, but I wouldn't start kicking shins," said a top statehouse source, alluding to Vilsack's dismissing the idea.

And lastly, at a recent meeting between the organization Save Our Schools (SOS) and Register Editor Carolyn Washburn, Washburn refused to shake hands with anyone from SOS. The group has been extremely critical of the daily's questionable reporting on the Des Moines Public Schools System. CV

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