(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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County supervisor sues sheriff, alleging politically motivated 'retaliation' • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]
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Date: 2025-07-18
A Madison County supervisor is suing the sheriff over a criminal referral the law enforcement official allegedly made regarding the supervisor’s comments about potential cuts in the county budget.
Heather Stancil, who is one of three members of the Madison County Board of Supervisors, is suing Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
Stancil alleges that on May 6, 2025, she and the other members of the county board were informed by Madison County Auditor Teri Kaczinski, who had begun a four-year term in January 2025, that she intended to resign effective July 4, 2025.
Because the board is charged with the responsibility of filling a vacancy in the office of auditor, either through an appointment or a special election, the supervisors discussed the potential unplanned expense of such an election, the lawsuit claims.
Stancil publicly advocated for filling the vacancy by appointment to avoid the unbudgeted expense of an election, the lawsuit alleges, and on July 3, Stancil and one other member of the board voted to appoint Matthew Schwarz, a former police officer, to the post. On July 7, Schwarz took the oath of office and assumed possession of the books, records, and office space of the Madison County auditor.
According to the lawsuit, several Madison County residents then used the social media site Facebook to express their disagreement with the board’s decision to fill the vacancy by appointment and also took issue with the selection of Schwarz.
“Stancil, as is her normal practice as an elected official, used Facebook to express her views on the decision,” the lawsuit states, and “explained that if the board was required to expend funds for a special election because of a successful petition, ‘I will then work to find ways to offset that additional cost to taxpayers by shrinking government.’”
In response to Stancil’s statement, Barnes issued a press release on July 14, 2025, stating that his office was “aware of a recent online public statement allegedly made by a member of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. The statement is in regard to a petition being sought by some residents of Madison County who are seeking a special election to choose their county auditor.”
The release went on to suggest that Stancil’s comment was a violation of the Iowa law concerning voter intimidation, and stated that a copy of Stancil’s Facebook comment and a preliminary investigation of the matter had been forwarded to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for review.
The law in question states that anyone who willingly attempts to “intimidate, threaten or coerce a person” to sign, or refrain from signing, an election petition is guilty of a felony offense.
Lawsuit: Sheriff wanted to ‘score a cheap political point’
The lawsuit argues that “no reasonable law enforcement officer could find an elected official’s statement about offsetting unexpected expenses for a special election” to be in violation of the law and calls the sheriff’s position on the matter “preposterous.”
Barnes’ interpretation of the law would “criminalize everything that elected officials regularly do,” the lawsuit claims, since “any action by an elected official could ultimately be connected to a claim it was done to influence the public’s participation in elections.”
The lawsuit also claims Barnes ignored his statutory obligation to investigate allegations of election misconduct only at the direction of the attorney general and to then ensure that any resulting report would remain confidential, adding that “he ignored these duties to score a cheap political point and harm a political adversary.”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as court costs and attorney fees, for the alleged violations of Stancil’s constitutional right of free speech.
The sheriff, who has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, declined to comment on the case Friday.
In her lawsuit, Stancil is represented by former Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren, who runs an organization called the Kirkwood Institute. The institute, which describes itself as “nonpartisan,” has been recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity — although the institute also calls itself a “conservative public-interest law firm.”
State records indicate Schwarz, the new county auditor, is currently a board member for the Kirkwood Institute. Ostergren was once the director of operations for Schwarz Forensic Enterprises, which is a consulting company run by Schwarz.
Former county treasurer charged
The lawsuit is just one of several issues facing Madison County, which been rocked by turmoil in recent months. In January, Madison County Treasurer Amanda DeVos was criminally charged with felonious misconduct in office, tampering with records and theft. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. After several delays, a pretrial conference in the case is now scheduled for Sept. 2, 2025.
A hearing on a petition calling for DeVos’ removal from office was scheduled for this week, but was preempted by DeVos’ resignation on July 14.
Police records indicate DeVos is accused of obtaining her vehicle registration plates through her office without paying for them and then altering public records to indicate she had paid for them.
Prior to the criminal charges being filed, DeVos’ office was the subject of several complaints alleging citizens’ payments to the county weren’t being processed in a timely manner and payments from the treasurer to various taxing entities in Madison County, such as the Winterset public schools, were not being distributed in a timely manner.
DeVos is a Republican who had served as the county treasurer since January 2023.
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