Sondra challenges State of Iowa’s “misapplied” campaign finance regulation
Declares Wild Willpower PAC as first “Civil PAC” in Iowa
After investing more than 13 years developing Wild Willpower PAC and everything you see throughout this website, www.ReUniteTheStates.org, and other sites (some of are not currently live), on March 31, 2023 Sondra announced her candidacy for Iowa Governor.
On January 14, 2025, Assistant Legal Counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (“Ethics Board”), Taylor McDonald, Esq., informed Sondra that Wild Willpower had crossed the line into “express advocacy”, and therefore Wild Willpower PAC must register as a “campaign committee”. Please note that “Wild Willpower” and “Wild Willpower PAC” are separate organizations: the PAC is a Member Organization.
On July 3 Sondra noticed that, “Candidates for state office may not establish, direct, or maintain a PAC (68A.303(5)),” then sent the following letter to the Ethics Board. Additional correspondences, which are ongoing, are below.
July 4, 2025
Wilson requests Board to recognize unique Political Structure
Wilson requests Board to recognize unique Political Structure
Dear Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board:
When I first established Wild Willpower PAC (WWP) as the first “Civil PAC” in the country, it was designed not to promote candidates, but instead to utilize campaign contributions to support grassroots efforts of “peaceable assemblies of Citizens” who were performing productive activities which align with the Preamble, and which would not otherwise get done if it were not for the grassroots organizers doing it. Whereas political activity needed to be performed and 501c3s are generally prohibited from such activities, I chose to found a unique type of PAC instead.
WWP has evolved: the State of Iowa must accommodate our necessary First Amendment Activity
That was back when I registered WWP federally, but now we’re state and federal because there are various issues to speak up about, and for which real work needs to be done to create the reforms needed at this time. Article I Section II of the Iowa Constitution sets forth, “All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right, at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it.” The persons working to do these things shall be members of the peaceable assembly, for whom there are no declared members of yet. For the sake of transparency, I will be requiring members to post their names and bios publicly, and campaign contributions and expenditures will be kept public so that people will know we are not being wasteful and unfair with contributions. WWP requires a way to report these transactions to your agency so they may be accounted for, however there appears to be no option for a “Civil PAC” within your current framework. That must change, and we request your agency begins working to accommodate our type of organization, which is further laid out below. If you cannot directly do this, I request direction immediately so that there are no hang-ups later with regard to my candidacy, or WWP’s status as the first Civil PAC formally recognized in Iowa.
Types of Activities
Activities we may perform may include co-creating grounds for class action or civil rights lawsuits, environmental suits, and creating petitions to reform parts of the government being ignored by Congress, Legislators, Candidates, etc. We may need to hire attorneys to take the cases we build. We also need to perform outreach to alert people about our plans, and we will promote candidates who run on Wild Willpower PAC’s platform. Although this is currently written as “my platform” for Governor, that is only because I am hopefully the first of many. Assuming I gain 2% of the popular vote during this election, I intend to found a political party. Due to these reasons, I am currently running as non-partisan.
Some of Iowa’s Campaign Finance Restrictions are Arbitrary, Capricious, Unfair, and Violate Our Rights
As you indicated previously, because www.WildWillpower.org provides “express advocacy” for Sondra Wilson for Iowa Governor, we had to register as an “Iowa PAC”, however some of the restrictions, such as, “Candidates for state office may not establish, direct, or maintain a PAC (68A.303(5)).” are too restrictive, and do not account for the circumstances at hand.
This is the “If You Build It, They Will Come” State
There is a space for other candidates who want to run on Wild Willpower PAC’s platform, which is currently “my platform”, here: https://wildwillpower.
Additionally, you will see that WWP is trying to entice Rob Sand to run as Treasurer instead of Governor: https://
In order to convey what this PAC is, I must design and provide direction for it, and I have a right to run for office at the same time, as allowed by the Iowa Constitution.
The State of Iowa has left me no choice
My candidacy for Governor represents an Iowa and US Citizen who is severely dissatisfied with the current state of affairs of our state and federal government. For example:
1.) We have a Democrat who is funded by Republicans, so we really don’t have a choice there – it’s all the same.
2.) The BAR (British Accreditation Registrar) has an unchecked oligopoly/stranglehold around all three branches of the government, and Citizens such as myself are not being represented. This is why I’m working to found the AAR and bust up their monopoly/oligopoly, which you can read about here: https://wildwillpower.org/
3.) There’s literally nowhere to legally stick a seed in the ground while Iowa has the highest level of food insecurity in history *while simultaneously having some of the best soil in the world*: this makes zero sense, which is why WWP and me as a candidate (and hopefully future candidates who join WWP), are promoting Gardens Across Iowa! here: https://wildwillpower.
4.) Nearly every part of Wild Willpower PAC’s platform, which I am running on and hope to inspire other candidates to run on, touches on issues other candidates aren’t talking about or addressing at all.
5.) As a transgender woman, who faces slander from elected politicians and news media personalities on the daily – in *direct violation of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States,* I object to the removal of transgender Iowans being put in harm’s way and being removed from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. They have literally made it unsafe for me to work in this state, so all I have left is to go all-in on the First Amendment.
If the State of Iowa does not accommodate Wild Willpower, my rights would be violated as a result
WHEREAS it would be an abrogation of my rights to bar me from running Wild Willpower PAC for these reasons, when the State has left me no other choice except for despotism, THEREFORE have created and am directing a PAC and running for Office, and I object to the arbitrary and capricious regulation found in 68A.303(5).
Reasonable Demand: Accommodate Wild Willpower PAC and my Candidacy
Thus far I have gotten nothing but injustice from Iowa Courts, which are essentially run by the BAR Association. Therefore I am going to keep going, and formally and reasonably demand that the State of Iowa, et al, to adjust the regulations to accommodate social entrepreneurs who form legitimate PACs, and who also run for office.
I request formal recognition of Wild Willpower PAC as the first declared Civil PAC in Iowa, and recognition that I have a right to run for Governor of the State of Iowa. I have a right to found and direct Wild Willpower PAC, which ultimately amounts to First Amendment Activity, and a right to run for Governor.
I request you to place your current regulation which appears to state otherwise, 68A.303(5), under review by your attorneys, and I request a formal response.
I have a right to form and direct Wild Willpower PAC, and I have a right to run for office, arbitrary and capricious regulations notwithstanding.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Sondra Wilson
Founder of Wild Willpower PAC
Candidate for Iowa Governor
US and Iowa Citizen
All Rights Assumed
July 7, 2025
Iowa Ethics Board claims Wilson is in Violation
Iowa Ethics Board claims Wilson is in Violation
Email from Zach Goodrich, Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board:
Good morning –
Iowa law does not recognize what you describe as a civil political action committee.
Iowa Code section 68A.303(5) is a state law, not a regulation, and willful violations of it are considered serious misdemeanors.
As you have indicated you will not be following state law, this matter will be forwarded to our Board for the appropriate civil penalties and any other enforcement actions they see fit for willfully violating the law. As the matter progresses, you will receive updates from the staff.
Sincerely,
Zach Goodrich
July 7, 2025
Wilson clarifies, requests additional review
Wilson clarifies, requests additional review
Thank you, Zach. Please forward this email to the Board as well so that the situation may be better analyzed in its entirety, with all factors accounted for. I hope that the Board will inquire if there are still any questions or concerns.
That said, what I am doing is not a “willful violation” of Iowa Code section 68A.303(5), nor does it appear to me that what I am doing is a violation of the Code at all. Rather, the Code does not apply to this situation: it was designed with other circumstances in mind. Please read on to understand what I am talking about.
Wild Willpower (not to be confused with Wild Willpower PAC) is a new type of political organization. As you are aware, a political organization’s candidate for governor needs to receive at least 2% of the total votes cast for that office in the last general election to be recognized as a political party.
Therefore, Wild Willpower could eventually become recognized as a party. However, before this can happen – and before I can hand the reins over to other trusted individuals to manage it – I must first finish conveying, in its entirety, every aspect of Wild Willpower, Wild Willpower PAC, The Peaceable Assembly™ , the AAR, and my candidacy. This includes removing “myself” (my candidate committee) from the official platform page, and instead simply linking my candidacy to the platform. This is what future candidates who will be showcased on the website will do as well. Each candidate will also be allowed to have Wild Willpower’s “Official Stamp of Approval” (logo) affixed to their candidacy to indicate that they shall uphold our Code of Ethics and that they are running on our platform. I am currently designing the logo, and will be conveying all of this on the website soon.
As an entrepreneurship major at Iowa State University, I am working under the guidance of various instructors, and performing daily research in order to see these and other organizations I have founded, such as Iowa Nature Co-op, for example (no website yet), so that each of them may be strong enough to involve and provide opportunities for hundreds to thousands of people in the future. To convey all of this, I must continue developing www.WildWillpower.org: no one else has the knowledge or qualifications to do so. The website enables me to pitch my ideas at contests, hire colleagues through CyHire, attract more sponsors, partner with legal scholars to join the AAR, entice other candidates to run on Wild Willpower’s platform, and find more passionate, change-oriented Citizens to join The Peaceable Assembly™.
Ultimately, everything I’m doing , including accepting campaign contributions in accordance with Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) and Citizens United v. FEC 558 U.S. 310 (2010), amounts to First Amendment activity. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States sets forth, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Article VI clause 2 of the US, sets forth that, “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof… shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and… any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.“. This means that if a state law conflicts with a federal law, the federal law prevails.
One federal law, 18 U.S. Code § 242, sets forth, “Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State… to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States… shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both….”
Article IV, § 6 of the Iowa Constitution sets forth that a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, at least 30 years old, and a resident of Iowa for the two years preceding the election. There is nothing in the Iowa Constitution which gives credence to Iowa Code section 68A.303(5) being used to abrogate my right to run for Governor. Utilizing this provision of Iowa Code to deprive me of my right to run would appear to be:
1.) An arbitrary and capricious use of the code,2.) A violation of 18 U.S. Code § 242
3.) A violation 42 U.S. Code § 1985(3).
Therefore, I respectfully request the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and the State of Iowa to consider the factors stated herein, for I am not in “willful violation” of Iowa Code section 68A.303(5), and the enforcement of such code, in a manner that violates me, Wild Willpower, our member organizations, and/or my candidate committee, would violate multiple provisions of federal law, and would dishonor the great sacrifices of United States Veterans who fought to ensure you and I would have the ability to exercise our First Amendment right – even if that means doing so through the formation of an unprecedented type of political organization backed by US Supreme Court rulings – and to run for office to help our fellow Citizens in time of need.
I must continue conveying all of Wild Willpower’s plans and purposes onto https://WildWillpower.org, and so if the Board wants to consider Wild Willpower to be “DBA” until I am able to hand off the reins to trusted individuals in the future, so be it.
I look forward to working with the Board, and to conveying these plans to our fellow Iowans.
Please, “let the people decide.”
Sincerely,
Sondra Wilson
Founder of Wild Willpower
Prospective Candidate for Iowa Governor
US and Iowa Citizen, All Rights Assumed/Reserved