Tuel, who in July became the director of Cain’s Iowa campaign, has faced similar political and personal challenges.
In 2000, he was forced out of his six-figure job as head of a public housing corporation by the Iowa Legislature amid harsh criticism of executive salaries and lobbying expenses.
The state created the Iowa Housing Corp. in 1990 — at Tuel’s urging — with $8 million in taxpayer money. At the time he was executive director of the Iowa Finance Authority, but soon left to be the president, chairman and general counsel for the new housing agency. Tax returns from 1999 show Tuel was paid $134,000 in salary, but a legislative inquiry at the time revealed he made more than $200,000 in consulting fees from developers during his tenure with the nonprofit housing agency.
“He was definitely a colorful person who did garner a lot of attention. Not too much of it was very positive,” said former Republican state Rep. Steven Churchill, who was among Tuel’s critics.
In a recent interview, Tuel said the episode was about politics, not financial mismanagement.
“The bottom line was it was a political battle and the Iowa Housing Corp. came out on the losing side of it,” he said.
Tom Lynner, a housing developer who was vice chairman of the state finance authority when the Iowa Housing Corp. was dismantled, described Tuel as “hard-charging guy” who lost the confidence of the Legislature.
“Larry could be kind of strident,” he said. “The way Larry operated made more sense in the private sector.”
Tuel likely made life more difficult for himself by two scrapes with the law — a public intoxication charge after he scuffled with police outside an Iowa restaurant in 2000, and a DUI charge three years earlier that ultimately was dismissed. Tuel said he is not proud of those blemishes. He said the episode in 2000 caused him to take stock of his drinking.
“I haven’t had a drink in 12 years,” he said.
