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Iowa Public Information Board has a new executive director [1]

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- March']

Date: 2023-03-29

The Iowa Public Information Board has a new executive director.

Erika Eckley of Carlisle has filled the vacancy left by Margaret Johnson upon her retirement earlier this month. Eckley is IPIB’s fourth executive director in the 10 years since the board was created.

“We are excited to have Erika join the staff of the board,” board chairperson Julie Pottorff said. “Erika brings a number of skills that will make her a tremendous asset.”

As executive director, Eckley will advise the board and make recommendations on the disposition of cases. She received her law degree from Drake University, her master of public administration from Iowa State University, and her undergraduate degree from Grand View University.

In private practice, she has worked as a staff attorney for the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at ISU, and as assistant general counsel for the Iowa Hospital Association.

The Iowa Public Information Board was created in 2012 with the intent of resolving complaints Iowans have with government agencies’ lack of compliance with the state’s Open Meetings Law and Open Records Law.

The vast majority of citizen complaints that come before the board are dismissed with no enforcement action taken. The board characterizes those dispositions as informal settlements that result from a “negotiated compromise that satisfies both parties, reduces community conflict, and results in increased government transparency.”

In 2022, the IPIB staff processed 131 formal complaints and 130 informal complaints. The board did not initiate any contested cases in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

By law, the nine-member board is to include no more than three representatives of the government and no more than three representatives of the media — with the remaining board positions filled by public representatives.

For the past 15 months, one of the positions that had been filled by a public representative has sat vacant, awaiting an appointment by the governor.

The board’s public representatives typically consist of the current or former government officials. The three public representatives now on the board include E.J Giovannetti, who served as mayor of the City of Urbandale for 20 years and was once considered a government representative on the board; Monica McHugh, an accountant who has served on the Jackson County Zoning Board for at least 12 years; and Pottorff, who worked in the state attorney general’s office for more than 30 years before her retirement in 2013. In addition, one of the board’s two designated media representatives works for the Iowa National Guard.

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