Governor candidate Ras Smith visits Mt. Pleasant

Iowa Governor candidate Ras Smith visited Mt. Pleasant Thursday afternoon, featuring on the Three Rural White Guys podcast at the Theatre Museum located on the Midwest Old Threshers grounds.

The podcast is led by Mike Heaton, Jacob Dodds, and Kellen Gracey.

Dodds was absent from the meeting.

The podcast focuses on issues that concern both rural and urban communities alike. Their goal is to bridge the rural-urban divide and also provide a progressive message in rural red America.

Smith, a democratic candidate, said that coming to smaller rural areas around the state is important because "this is Iowa."

"This is Iowa," Smith said. "There are 99 counties in this state, and only a few of them are large like Waterloo, and still I can drive 10 minutes in any direction and be somewhere I can hunt. This whole urban and rural divide, I think we just made that up. Iowa is a system of communities, and so for me, if you want to know what the people are asking for, you need to go and talk to them. Have conversations. ... This is where you can have honest conversations about their needs. You don't get that at the capital in Des Moines."

Smith spoke to listeners and a live audience about several issues related to Iowa.

He spoke about his life growing up in Waterloo as a Black man and experiencing racism. Those who supported him along the way gave him hope.

One of Smith's goals is to help bridge division in the state and create communities where people support one another, not cut each other down. He hopes to empower Iowans while proving the quality of life.

Keeping people in Iowa and making it a place where families want to live was another main point of his. He wants to make sure money made in the state stays in the state, something he says is not happening currently.

One topic that Smith received more questions than any other was education.

As the ranking member of the House Education Committee, these issues are some he takes very seriously. Also, his wife is a special-education teacher.

Smith's goals are to prioritize students and families to allow for more globally competitive education, empower educators by giving them more support to attract and retain educators, and finally, use public dollars for public schools.

When asked about dealing with people that don't want to listen to the other sides of issues, Smith said we have to figure out what we have in common.

"I think first and foremost we have to figure out our commonality," he said. "We're human beings first before any political party. I want to figure out how we can connect as humans. Is that because I like to hunt and you like to hunt? Maybe you love dogs. Maybe you like football or basketball. Let's talk about those things that connect us first. The policies and politics will be there. Let's connect first as people, then build off of that."

Comments: hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com