DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - One of Brenna Bird’s recurring messages in her campaign as a Republican candidate for Attorney General is that incumbent Democrat Tom Miller, after 44 years as the state’s chief prosecutor, is simply going through the motions at the office.
A review of Miller’s appointment calendar, which Legal Newsline obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, shows that Bird has a valid point.
In 2019, 54% of Miller’s work days had no more than two appointments, and 32% of his days had just one appointment. In 2020, 53% of his work days had no more than two appointments, and 31% of his days had just one appointment. In 2021, 46% of his work days had no more than two appointments, and 20% had just one.
Example: AG Miller's calendar
In contrast, the appointment calendar of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds over the same time, also obtained through a FOIA request, was packed, with nearly every minute – even on weekends – accounted for.
Examples of that contrast can be found here for 2019, 2020 and 2021.
“We are actively campaigning in all of Iowa’s 99 counties, raising money, sitting down with voters and local media,” Bird, the Guthrie County Attorney, told Legal Newsline. “I plan to be in every corner of the state as much as possible. I think my opponent has become too comfortable in the job and is just phoning it in. That changes this November with a new Attorney General.”
Miller apparently wasn’t using his off-time collecting signatures for nominating petitions for the June primary ballot. In a PR nightmare, his campaign narrowly scraped by with enough signatures just to get his name on the ballot. Radio Iowa reported Miller “had just one signature to spare.”
Miller faces other headwinds. He’s up against a red wave in a state that has turned, as Bird said for an earlier story, from Minnesota Blue to Missouri Red.
Miller also was an early backer of Joe Biden, whose polling numbers across demographics drop nearly by the day. And he’s been absent on legal challenges other states have brought against Biden Administration policies harmful to Iowans. The most recent miss was not joining the Attorneys General in Missouri, Arizona and Louisiana who are suing the Biden Administration over its plan to rescind Title 42, a Trump policy that authorized the quick expelling of migrants who cross the border seeking asylum.
“Tom Miller is once again notably absent from this lawsuit!,” Bird wrote in an April 6 Facebook posting. “He refuses to stand against President Biden’s reckless border policies and Iowans have had enough.”
And just last week, Miller’s Solicitor General Jeff Thompson was arrested on an assault involving a bouncer who was escorting Thompson from a bar.
Lynn Hicks, Miller’s chief of staff, was quoted in the Des Moines Register as saying that Thompson informed Miller of his arrest and continues his responsibilities for the office.
"Jeff has done incredible work for our office and in service to the state," Hicks told the newspaper. "This is a private matter that Jeff will have to address."
Hicks did not return a Legal Newsline request for comment on Miller’s calendar.
Primary Election Day is June 7. The General Election is Nov. 8.