I know Tom Vilsack’s thinking about the presidency right now, which may be fortunate because I’m not sure he would be re-elected governor with the news that came out of the statehouse today. Vilsack paid former DED director Mike Blouin a $59,000 "retention" bonus last year according to our reporter who sat through the Legislative Oversight Committee hearings today. You’ll recall Blouin resigned in July to run for governor.
Vilsack’s communications director defended the bonuses paid to Blouin and a thousand others in state government by saying: "a number of these employees who received this sort of extra pay/recruitment/retention bonuses, they have special skills…for instance former director Blouin took over a $90,000 pay cut to become the director of economic development under this adminsitraton and he helped spur many economic opportunities for this state." This statement comes at the same time the Vilsackers had to acknowledge another report — this one from the DED — which shows roughly 8000 jobs have been "created or retained" by companies getting Values Fund grants — not the 25,000 that Vilsack and Blouin have repeatedly claimed had been "created or retained." In a statement issued this afternoon, Vilsack said another 17,000 jobs were "in the pipeline."
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Blouin’s bonus was news two years ago. This information has been in the media for years and it’s now getting the spotlight?
Great investigative reporting, you’ve been duped by the current witch hunt conducted by desperate politicians trying to hold the statehouse this fall.