Gov. Downplays Cost of Defense in Discrimination Case

Thursday, December 26, 2019 | 0

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds downplayed the increasing costs taxpayers are covering to defend her predecessor in a discrimination case over the firing of former Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey, according to a report by the Sioux City Journal.

Chris Godfrey

A Polk County jury awarded Godfrey $1.5 million in July. The jury found former Gov. Terry Branstad discriminated against Godfrey, who is gay, and cut his pay in 2011 in retaliation after he refused to quit.

The Iowa Executive Council on Monday approved spending another $388,596 for Branstad’s defense, bringing the total bill for the governor’s legal fight to $2.8 million, according to the Journal.

“That’s a relatively small cost moving forward,” Reynolds said on Monday. “We believe that we have a good case and so that’s why I made the decision to appeal.”

Reynolds said in an earlier statement that the state has strong arguments and will prevail with its appeal. She said additional legal costs “will be minimal and winning the appeal will save the taxpayers millions of dollars.”

The state’s overall liability for the case is currently more than $8 million, according to the report.

Reynolds succeeded Branstad when he stepped down as governor in 2017 to become a U.S. ambassador to China. Both are Republicans.

The state’s auditor and treasurer, who are both Democrats, voted against authorizing the additional payments. Auditor Rob Sand said the “reward” if the state prevails is a new trial, which will be just as expensive as the first. He said he believes it is unlikely that the court will dismiss the case outright, so the state is “betting the house on a bad bet.”