The Omaha World-Herald reports the Monona County attorney is considering filing a petition to remove Auditor Brooke Kuhlmann from office. Kuhlmann was arrested earlier this year on methamphetamine-related charges. The Monona County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday said County Attorney Mike Jensen should consider Kuhlmann’s removal pursuant to state law, and it appears that’s what he will do.

Brooke Kuhlmann

The Iowa Department of Public Safetey has said Kuhlmann was arrested in July after she contacted a drug dealer’s cellphone in an attempt to make a buy. The woman didn’t know the person with whom she was communicating was a state trooper and the phone he was using had been seized in a traffic stop. A quantity of methamphetamine was left for her in an arranged location. According to authorities, law enforcement officers watched her pick it up, and then Onawa police pulled her over.

Kuhlmann has pleaded not guilty to charges of methamphetamine possession, a serious misdemeanor, and possessing drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor. Conviction would not automatically mean removal from office.

State code allows an elected official to be removed from office for such reasons as willful misconduct and maladministration. The county attorney would have to file a petition. A hearing would be held in district court, and ultimately a judge would decide.