Ethics board chief leaving to work for House GOP

An announcement today from the House Republican Leader:

Paulsen Announces New Chief Clerk of the House

(DES MOINES) – Speaker-Elect Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) today announced Charlie Smithson as the new chief clerk of the Iowa House.

“I’m honored to be serving as the chief clerk,” said Smithson.  “I look forward to working with all of the members of the Iowa House of Representatives.”

Smithson has been the Executive Director for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board since 2001 and the board’s attorney since 1998.  He previously served as the attorney for the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. 

Raised in Pocahontas, Iowa, Smithson graduated from Westmar College in Le Mars before earning a Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas. 

Smithson has lectured and written several articles on government, ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance as well as contributed to the book,” Money, Politics, and Campaign Finance Reform Law in the United States.” He also teaches election law at the Drake University Law School in Des Moines. 

“Charlie brings with him a breadth of experience as well as a long history of openness and transparency in government,” said Paulsen.  “He’s earned the respect of Republicans and Democrats alike for his fairness and hard work ethic.  I am confident he will do a tremendous job as the chief clerk.”

Smithson begins December 1, 2010.