Governor Terry Branstad.

Governor Terry Branstad.

Governor Terry Branstad has just made dozens of new appointments to state boards and commissions and he’s keeping a Republican candidate for the Iowa House on the Iowa Public Information Board.

Andy McKean, an attorney from Anamosa, served in the legislature for 24 years before retiring in January of 2003. He’s on the ballot this November, hoping to return to the Iowa House in 2017.

McKean has served on the Iowa Public Information Board since it was created three years ago. Governor Branstad this week re-appointed his fellow Republican to that board. However, if McKean wins his election this fall, he likely will have to resign from the Iowa Public Information Board before he’s sworn into office.

An analysis from the Legislative Services Agency cites the importance of the “separation of powers” in state government. It means if McKean were to be a state representative and a member of the Iowa Public Information Board, he would be part of both the legislative and the executive branches of government.