Iowa senate majority leader for the Republican Party Bill Dix resigned from office effective 2 p.m. Monday. Dix’s resignation came shortly after a video was posted of Dix kissing lobbyist Lindsey McCune at Waveland Tap in Des Moines.

The incident took place on March 1. The video did not surface until Monday, March 12, on Iowa Starting Line, an Iowa based blog.

The Des Moines Register reported hours later that Dix met with other Republican Party members at 1 p.m., just a few hours after the video was posted. An hour after that meeting, his resignation was official. 

The resignation letter given to Senate President Jack Whitver read as follows:

“I resign my position as Iowa State senator and majority leader effective at 2 p.m. today, March 12, 2018.”

Whitver released a public statement on Monday regarding Dix’s resignation saying that he believed this to be the best possible solution for Dix as a senator, as a father to two children and as a husband to his wife Gerri Dix. 

“I believe he made the right decision for himself and for his district, but most importantly, I believe he made the decision in the best interest of his family,” Whitver said.

Gov. Kim Reynolds — who recently visited Iowa State — touched on the matter at her 11 a.m. press conference on Monday.

“With what little I know, I’m certainly disappointed in what I’m hearing,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds expressed disappointment in Dix and said she intends to speak privately with Dix to discuss the situation and get more information concerning the video and declined to comment further. 

The video was posted to Iowa Starting Line on Sunday after patrons recognized Dix from his involvement in a sexual harassment trial which resulted in a $1.75 million settlement last September. The patrons also took photos that more clearly identified Dix and McCune. 

Iowa State professor of political science Kelly Shaw commented on the matter and how recent events will reflect on the Iowa Senate.

“The video evidence is pretty damning for Dix and for the Republican leadership in the Iowa Senate,” Shaw said. “Obviously, the Senate and Republican lawmakers have no control over what individual legislators do away from the Capital, but the senator’s behavior and nonchalance suggests that there is a culture that permeates parts of the Capitol.”

Hours after former Iowa Senate Republican Kirsten Anderson reported a toxic work environment, Dix fired her for alleged job performance reasons in 2013.

After this took place some senators called for Dix’s resignation as senate majority leader. Kelly Shaw commented on this, saying that this event should not have necessarily resulted in him losing his senate seat, however, his role as majority leader should have been called into question. 

Dix has left his position from the Iowa Senate altogether.

Shaw argues that both the Iowa Senate and Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board “would have grounds for removing Dix and McCune, respectively.”  

“While neither Dix or McCune broke any laws, I think a strong argument could be made that both violated codes of ethics which provides guidance to both legislators and lobbyists,” Shaw said.

From a legal standpoint, Shaw cited Iowa Code Chapter 68B which lays out the ethics of relations between senators and lobbyists. This poses legal issues not only for Dix, but also for McCune. 

“Given McCune’s employment with the Iowa League of Cities, and Sen. Dix’s leadership in the Iowa Senate, their apparent relationship could be argued to be a conflict of interest for McCune,” Shaw said. “Likewise, there are several passages in the Senate Code of Ethics which suggests that Dix has made ethical violations by engaging with McCune outside of normal lobbyist-legislator interactions.” 

Lindsey McCune has since resigned from her position as a lobbyist for the Iowa League of Cities. 

Since the Kirsten Anderson case, the Iowa House and Senate hired a Human Resources director in hopes of better managing ethical matters like this in the future. However in the wake of the recent video release, Shaw said that it shows that there has not been progress to change in the Senate. 

“Anderson’s complaint and subsequent award indicated that there was a ‘good-ole-boy’ mentality in the Senate, and that little changed between Anderson filing her complaint in 2013 and the jury’s verdict in her favor in 2017,” Shaw said. “Unfortunately, the events of this week suggest that lessons remain to be [unlearned].”

Iowa attorney Katie Carlson told Iowa Starting Line that this seemed to make very little difference. 

“This footage would suggest to me that the sexual harassment training was not effective, at least not for Mr. Dix,” Carlson said. 

Shaw does not believe that these events in any way reflect on the university, despite the fact that Bill Dix is an Iowa State University graduate with a degree in agribusiness.

An election held was Wednesday to replace Bill Dix as majority leader resulted in the previous Senate president, Jack Whitver taking over as majority leader. Shaw commented on Whitver’s role as a leader and her confidence in his ability to serve.

“I think Jack Whitver will serve as an excellent leader in the Senate,” Shaw said. “He is a rising star within the the Senate and the Republican Party, and his legal background will assist his party as they continue to address the environment within the Senate.”