Former Obama staffer Jackie Norris says controversy over Ian Andre Roberts’ hiring demands her full attention
Des Moines Public School Board (DMPS) Chair Jackie Norris ended her bid for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat Thursday after facing backlash for urging “radical empathy” toward former superintendent and illegal immigrant Ian Andre Roberts.
Norris, a Democrat who previously served as first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, said the “superintendent crisis” demanded her full attention as board chair and put her “in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks.”
“Those realities took time and oxygen away from the work I set out to do: stand up for our kids and families — and the backbone of our communities, their educators and caregivers,” Norris wrote in a statement.
Jackie Norris worked as Michelle Obama’s chief of staff in the White House. (Getty Images)