DES MOINES, Iowa - Des Moines Mayor Candidate Jack Hatch says he's filed a complaint with the FCC over a TV ad and print flyer from incumbent Mayor Frank Cownie. "And we have delivered individual letters to the general managers of the three majors television stations asking them to pull the plug on those advertisements," said Hatch.
Hatch takes issue with Cownie's claim in the ads and flyers that he lines his pockets with tax-payer money as a real estate developer.
Hatch told WHO Radio News that a Des Moines Register investigation proved his use of state tax-credits to build low income housing while he was a state Senator was not a conflict of interest. He said the allegations are being recycled from his run for governor when former Republican Governor Terry Branstad brought them up.
Hatch said he would not involve his business in low income housing in Des Moines if he were elected mayor.
Mayor Cownie contends Hatch was not cleared of wrongdoing by the Register. "If senator Hatch thinks that the Des Moines Register got the information wrong about his $80 million in tax subsidies or $7.1 million in developer fees funded by the taxpayers, then he should file a complaint with the Register, not with us," said Cownie. "We stand by our ad because we Des Moines voters deserve to know how that millionaire developer Hatch used our tax dollars to build his company."
Hatch and Cownie are in a runoff election December 3rd for the Des Moines mayor's office. Both are Democrats running in a non-partisan city election.
In the initial election earlier this month, Cownie received 10,753 votes (43.5%) to Hatch's 10,579 votes (42.8%). A candidate has to garner more than 50% of the votes to win the election outright. Two other candidates include in the earlier election did not make the runoff. Cownie is running for an unprecedented fifth term.