Branstad?s gubernatorial campaign comes to Washington

    Former governor and current gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad spoke to a crowd of over 50 people at Engineered Building Design in Washington Wednesday afternoon. Branstad, a Republican, appeared with his running mate Kim Reynolds, who is a Republican state senator from Osceola. The two of them talked about a variety of issues such as job creation and the budget before fielding questions from the audience.

    Branstad began his talk by stating his disagreement with Governor Chet Culver over the proper handling of the budget.

    ?Our governor is following the Obama example, who somehow thinks we can borrow our way to prosperity,? said Branstad. ?We?re going to have to pay $55 million a year in interest over the next 20 years ? money that could have been spent on infrastructure. I think that?s a tragedy.?

    Branstad claimed that Iowa?s budget deficit is the largest in the state?s history. He said that it?s time for the Legislature and the governor?s office to make tough decisions to balance the budget. 

    ?First and foremost, we need to get the state budget balanced on generally accepted accounting principles,? said Branstad. ?I?m going to do that by working with our state auditor, David Vaudt. Unfortunately, Gov. Culver doesn?t listen to the auditor, or hardly anybody else for that matter, and the result is the budget mess we have.?

    Listening well is a character trait highly praised by Branstad. He said that what distinguishes him from Culver is his willingness to meet with people and hear their concerns. 

    ?I?m a good listener,? remarked Branstad. ?He doesn?t listen to constituents. He doesn?t meet with constituents. I was president of Des Moines University and we could never get a meeting with him. I thought he hated private colleges. The bankers couldn?t get a meeting with him, nor could the medical society. I think the governor?s got to be accessible and listen to people, and I?ll do that.?

    Of course, Branstad said the two men also had political disagreements.

    ?I believe that government is not the answer; the private sector is,? he remarked. ?We need to reduce taxes and regulations and not try to have government create jobs by borrowing money. I also understand economics, and I understand you have to balance the budget. I don?t think he has a clue.?

    Branstad fielded a question from the audience concerning project labor agreements. A project labor agreement is when the government awards contracts for public construction projects exclusively to unionized firms. Branstad said he was not a fan of such agreements.  

For more, see our July 8 print edition.