Iowa Torch: How can we trust Liz Mathis?

May 17, 2022

Shane Vander Hart is out with a new op-ed asking the question: If State Senator Liz Mathis is willing to pad her resume, what else will she lie about?

In case you missed it…

How can we trust Liz Mathis?

Shane Vander Hart

The Iowa Torch

May 17, 2022

Fox News reported last week that State Senator Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, who is running for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, falsely claimed that she owned a family business.

AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising told Fox News that the “Mathis family has never been an owner, and Mark Mathis is no longer an owner.”

They added that “Liz Mathis has never been an owner or co-owner” of AMPERAGE or the ME&V firm that existed before its merger in 2014. 

Fox News reported that State Senator Mathis’ husband, Mark, stepped down from his ownership in 2021 and now works for AMPERAGE as a Special Projects Producer. 

Mathis has claimed that she was an owner of the business over the last decade and most recently made that claim during a podcast interview in 2021.

Her LinkedIn profile also claimed that she was an owner, which has now been deleted but can be found here.

She called herself the co-owner on her Iowa Senate financial disclosure form signed in 2012 and on her State Senate campaign website.

Mathis attempted to explain.

“Like many Iowans, my husband ran a small family business; and like many spouses, I experienced the stress and responsibility that comes with it,” she said in a released statement published by The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald

“As I speak with Iowa small business owners, I can relate to their stories of the ups and downs of business ownership. I believe we need to continue to cut the red tape for family businesses to grow and thrive. Although my husband sold his ownership in the business last year, I will take my family’s experience and that same focus to Congress where I’ll continue to fight for Iowa’s family businesses.”

Look, I own a small business, one I started in 2012 after being laid off that expanded some self-employment work I did on the side while working for a non-profit. It provided a full-time income until 2020, and now it’s a side hustle as I work a couple of other jobs. 

My wife has also experienced the ups and downs, but you know what she’s never claimed? 

Ownership.

Mathis embellished her resume, and it is entirely unnecessary. By all counts, she has an impressive resume. 

If she’s willing to pad her resume, what else will she lie about?

How can Iowans trust her?

I don’t believe we can. If you lie about the little things, you’ll also lie about the stuff that matters to constituents. 

Iowans should be thankful that Mathis will not be in the Iowa Senate after this current term, and let’s hope she’s not rewarded with a promotion to Congress after this new revelation.