Polk County, Iowa — A jury has awarded the Republican candidate for state auditor a million dollars in his wrongful termination lawsuit against the State of Iowa.
Todd Halbur was hired to be the comptroller of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division in 2015 and fired in mid-2018. Under Iowa’s liquor control system, the state acts as the wholesaler for Iowa businesses that buy liquor to sell to customers.
Halbur says he was demoted, then fired for being a whistleblower about prices on some products that were higher than allowed by law. Halbur’s supervisors say pricing changes were made after Halbur raised the issue and he was fired for other reasons. The state could appeal the jury’s verdict.
Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a $1.5 Million jury award to the state’s former workers’ compensation commissioner.
Halbur is a small businessman and realtor from Clive. Halbur defeated Mary Ann Hanusa from Council Bluffs, Iowa to win the GOP’s nomination for state auditor, but he’s raised little money in his race, as of his last campaign report filing, only having $2,929 on hand, compared to the $1,050,234 that was reported cash on hand that State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, had on his most recent filing. Sand is running for a second term.
