That’s Iowa State Sen. Mark Chelgren. He fancies himself a “straight shooter,” even delivering a newsletter to constituents with the same name. Roughly two weeks ago he embarrassed his fellow Iowans by introducing a bill designed to purge Democrats from teaching at Iowa universities:
The legislation proposes that a “person shall not be hired as a professor or instructor member of the faculty at such an institution if the person’s political party affiliation on the date of hire would cause the percentage of faculty belonging to one political party to exceed by ten percent the percentage of faculty belonging to the other political party.”
So, where did state Sen. Chelgren attend college? Because surely he would’ve learned this is both un-American AND unconstitutional, right? He claimed he had a degree from Forbco Management School, but that turned out to be false and perhaps the most flaming hot, embarrassing resume pad of all time:
But State Sen. Mark Chelgren's alleged alma mater is actually a company that operated a Sizzler steak house franchise in southern California and he doesn't have a "degree," Ed Failor, a spokesman for the Iowa State Republicans, told NBC News.
"This was a management course he took when he worked for Sizzler, kind of like Hamburger University at McDonald's," Failor said. "He got a certificate."
Even though he deleted mention the degree off his website, a Google search still prominently shows the old info (see below). And state Sen. Chelgren told a reporter just last week that it was so long ago, who can remember?
In a telephone interview last week, Chelgren was vague about Forbco. He said it was located outside of Los Angeles and that he got his business degree "around '88 or '89. It's going back a ways so I don't remember."
Iowa, how long are you going to let this guy occupy space in your legislature and make decisions about the future of education in Iowa?
Wednesday, Mar 1, 2017 · 10:21:06 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
We all love to have a good time and State Senator Mark Chelgren is no exception. He apparently was well known at the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) where he drove his own beer truck and dressed as “Chickenman.”
Wednesday, Mar 1, 2017 · 10:23:37 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden
In Dec. 2015, Chelgren proposed executing immigrants:
An Iowa state senator running for U.S. Congress is getting blasted by both his Republican Party and Democrats after saying that immigrant felons who try to re-enter America illegally should be executed.
State Sen. Mark Chelgren's controversial comments were published Monday by the Journal Express of Knoxville and Marion County, which presented his views on border security and immigration. The newspaper said the two-term state legislator believes in a fence to help protect the nation's borders, and that if an undocumented person who committed a felony is deported and then tries to return to the U.S., he or she should be subject to capital punishment.