Governor Tom Vilsack has raised the ire of Republicans in the Iowa Senate by re-appointing a Marshalltown man to the Iowa Transportation Commission. Democrat Wayne Sawtelle of Marshalltown ran against Republican Senator Larry McKibben of Marshalltown last November and lost. Governor Vilsack then tried to appoint Sawtelle to the Transportation Commission, but Republicans blocked the nomination this past spring. Sawtelle then issued a statement, withdrawing his name from consideration. Now, Vilsack has put Sawtelle back on the commission and he’ll be voting a member, but the Senate still has the right to deny him the job. But that confirmation vote can’t take place until the Senate is back in session next year. Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows says the governor has the authority to do what he did. “I’m just a little disappointed that he chose to go at it in this fashion,” Iverson says. Iverson said earlier this year that Sawtelle, a fire fighter who once operated a small trucking company, was not qualified to serve on the Transportation Commission.
