Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rob, First of all, thank you so much for being
on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm real I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Okay, So certainly I could talk about auditor stuff. I
could talk about the stuff that you talk about on
your weekend show, because I find I found a lot
of that to be very fascinating. And I appreciate you
coming on our show. I know that you're kind of
doing still the media honeymoon tour thing right now while
you still have a job to do, and you're also
trying to get the foundation for a governor campaign. So
(00:27):
why now, Why is now the time that Rob sand
should be the governor of the state of Iowa.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Look, I think that most Ilands are not happy with
the direction of the state. We are forty nine in
the economic growth according to the Trump administration. We're number
one in cancer growth. They gutted the auditor's office, you know,
like they're just they're so far off base in Des
(00:54):
Moines from doing things that will actually help Iowan's lower costs,
from actually improving ourcation system. It blows my mind. When
I was growing up into Kora, we were always in
the top three, and now we're in the absolute middle
of the pack for education. I think we have real problems,
and the fact that in Des Moines, you know, they're
(01:15):
doing things like making it harder for our office, the
state Auditor's office to find a waste bread abuse, just
as a perfect illustration of how detached from the reality
they are. They're not doing public service anymore. They're looking
out for their political party, they're serving insiders, they're serving
special interest groups. They're not serving islands period.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
On the heels of that right, So a lot of
people who might be saying, if most of islands feel
that way, then how is Rob sand the only elected
Democratic politician at the state level and why are there
nothing but Republicans representing the state of Ioway and Washington DC.
What would be your answer to.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That, Well, every four years is different from the four
years it was before it. I also think that a
lot of folks get to know me and they understand
that I actually do things pretty differently. You can't really
put me in a box. If you told somebody you know, hey,
there's a candidate who's running who was born and raised
(02:12):
in a small town and likes to hunt and fish,
owns guns, including handguns, and their faith is a big
motivator in their life. Most people would assume that person's
a Republican, but I just describe myself. The other thing
is I'm not into party politics. I've told the DNC
NO on multiple occasions when they have made public records
(02:34):
requests that weren't appropriate. I talk about the importance of
giving voters better choices at the ballot box, that the
Democratic and the Republican parties don't solve enough problems to
deserve the little monopoly that they share in our choices.
You know, that makes a lot of Democrats upset, But
to most normal people who are frustrated with politics, it
(02:57):
sounds like someone's actually acknowledging what everybody knows, but what
politicians don't want to talk about because people in their
party want to just stick to the basics and not
say stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Rob sand who's currently state Auditor of Iowa and of
course is and asks his campaign to become the governor
of the state of Iowa, just to kind of expand
on the not really buying into party politics. It sounds
like something that many people would say, Well, that's great.
I'd love to hear a politician not be loyal to
(03:30):
their party. And just look out for the people they're
trying to serve. But I don't know if anybody really
knows exactly what that looks like. How can you achieve
the support you're hoping to get to become the governor
without the support directly of a political party.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I am saying all the stuff that I've said
twice already, and I've already won statewide twice. I think
that makes a huge difference. And I think that the
honest truth is that most people, most rank and file
voters agree with me, even those that are in my party,
(04:07):
but a lot of independence and a lot of Republicans too,
And so I think the answer to that question is
I've already done it twice and I'll keep doing it.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
When we talk about the state of Iowa, you mentioned
growing up here, You mentioned being from the Kora, and
you know the things that the state of Iowa, you know,
the way it was when you were growing up in
the way that it is now. You mentioned education, you
mentioned cancer rates. What can you tell us about the
things that you would be able to change immediately if
(04:39):
you were elected governor within the power the governor happens
to have.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, you know Obviously, the governor's got to work with
the legislature. Right, we don't elect a king or a
queen or a dictator. We elect a governor. And most
of the big changes have got to go through the legislature.
And I think that's the piece of this. And you know,
is it change overnight on day one. There's some things
(05:08):
a governor can do. I would love to, for example,
do what we already did in the Auditor's office state
wide work, state wide jobs. We made it so that
people who work in the Auditor's office can live anywhere
in the state of Iowa. This is a key change
to help rural areas and small towns support their population levels,
(05:29):
maybe even grow. But if you're trying to make people
just sit in the cubicle in Des Moines five days
a week, while they're going to have to live within
a decent commute from Des Moines, we changed that in
the Auditor's office. I would change that for a huge
number of state employees to help those folks decide to
go anywhere. But a lot of that comes down to,
again the fact that big change would require working with
(05:52):
the legislature, and this would be a balance, you know,
part of The reason that government right now in Des
Moines is only really serving insiders and special interests is
they've had ten years of one party control. As we know,
the phrase goes power crups and absolute power, crups absolutely
and when you give them no checks and balances and
one party control for ten years, they get off into
(06:15):
the weeds doing stuff that most folks don't appreciate. And
so bringing balance back, forcing the parties to actually share
power with each other would help us get back to
sort of common sense solutions that the vast majority of
Iowans can agree on.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
We're speaking with Rob san who's running a campaign for
governor and is also state auditor on the show today.
So for you know, people who are listening to this,
we don't know who exactly your opponent's going to be.
There is not going to be an incumbent, as Governor
Kimer Nolds has announced she's not running for reelection. Many
people who are you know, moderates, independence and of course
(06:50):
Republicans think that she has been a very successful governor
of this state. Is there anything that comes to mind
for you, Rob, as you're starting this campaign of things
that you believe that the current governor of the State
of Iowa has done well for the people of this state.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh I was delighted to see action taken on cell
phones in schools. I think that's important. Our boys are
eight and eleven, they're in Iowa public schools. They don't
have phones yet, but if the kids next to them
are distracted, that impacts their learning experience too, So I
(07:25):
think that was a good one. There have been some
pieces of the government reorganization that I think were a
decent idea. We did not need thirty seven cabinet level
agencies in the state of Iowa. I'm not sure that
sixteen was the magic number, and I think that Iowans
should have been included a little bit more in those
conversations about eliminating unpaid volunteer boards where you can have
(07:48):
regular Isoland serving state government. But still I think that
some change there was necessary, and there are a lot
of things that passed with bipartisan support that I'd hang
my head on as well.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Robson joining us here on the phone line, I'm just
gonna ask you know, we're certainly gonna have an opportunity
to talk several times between now and election day, almost
a year and a half from now. So that's a
lot of time. How are you planning to continue to
be a successful state auditor while also trying to you know,
run a campaign and try to become a governor while
representing a political party that has not had a lot
(08:22):
of wins at the state level here in the last decade.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Efficiency Is that all?
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Is that all it's gonna take.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I mean, that's the biggest piece of it. You know,
there's less time for hobbies in my life and that's
a sacrifice. But this is public service. So that's a
that's a big piece of it.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Efficiency all right, I know that you have somewhere to
be So I'm just gonna ask one last question for you.
I want people to know and try to humanize politics again.
And you've been a person that's very approachable and I
don't think that has a political label on it. Whether
you're a Republican or a Democrat, you've been politically approachable by,
(09:09):
you know, for a lot of people. What would be
your message to people that just are not interested in
hearing democrats or hearing the other side of the coin.
As we you know, kind of gear up over the
next twelve months for a big tough election cycle.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You know what I say to people across the state
is one party politics. You want that, try Russia or China.
But anybody that is effectively washed into one party or
the other, sooner or later, that party is going to
take advantage of you. And I say all the time,
it's not just if it's a one party state run
(09:44):
by Republicans. Look at the state of New York, look
at the state of California, Democratic trifectors there, and you
know what happens. You know what you'll find if you
go there, You'll find problems. The key here is when
when politicians think, when they believe but they can't possibly lose,
and that means that they think that they can do
anything they want right, And you'll find them thinking, well,
(10:06):
I don't have to actually solve any problems for anybody.
If I can just convince everybody the other side is worse.
That's a real problem, and I think there's solutions to that.
I think again, we should change our election system so
that the people actually decide who the candidates are and
instead of having the lesser of two evils kind of
(10:26):
rammed down our throats by two political parties. But that's
my message to those folks, let's make the system better,
because what you're going to get, no matter which party
it is, if you've got one party in control for
too long, is problems.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Rob Sandy is the state auditor of the State of Iowa.
Of course, is started his campaign to run for governor
for the state of Iowa. Rob, I really appreciate the time,
and I'm sure we'll talk again sometime very soon.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
See thanks for having me. Appreciate that
Rob, First of all, thank you so much for being
on our show today.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm real I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Okay, So certainly I could talk about auditor stuff. I
could talk about the stuff that you talk about on
your weekend show, because I find I found a lot
of that to be very fascinating. And I appreciate you
coming on our show. I know that you're kind of
doing still the media honeymoon tour thing right now while
you still have a job to do, and you're also
trying to get the foundation for a governor campaign. So
(00:27):
why now, Why is now the time that Rob sand
should be the governor of the state of Iowa.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Look, I think that most Ilands are not happy with
the direction of the state. We are forty nine in
the economic growth according to the Trump administration. We're number
one in cancer growth. They gutted the auditor's office, you know,
like they're just they're so far off base in Des
(00:54):
Moines from doing things that will actually help Iowan's lower costs,
from actually improving ourcation system. It blows my mind. When
I was growing up into Kora, we were always in
the top three, and now we're in the absolute middle
of the pack for education. I think we have real problems,
and the fact that in Des Moines, you know, they're
(01:15):
doing things like making it harder for our office, the
state Auditor's office to find a waste bread abuse, just
as a perfect illustration of how detached from the reality
they are. They're not doing public service anymore. They're looking
out for their political party, they're serving insiders, they're serving
special interest groups. They're not serving islands period.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
On the heels of that right, So a lot of
people who might be saying, if most of islands feel
that way, then how is Rob sand the only elected
Democratic politician at the state level and why are there
nothing but Republicans representing the state of Ioway and Washington DC.
What would be your answer to.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That, Well, every four years is different from the four
years it was before it. I also think that a
lot of folks get to know me and they understand
that I actually do things pretty differently. You can't really
put me in a box. If you told somebody you know, hey,
there's a candidate who's running who was born and raised
(02:12):
in a small town and likes to hunt and fish,
owns guns, including handguns, and their faith is a big
motivator in their life. Most people would assume that person's
a Republican, but I just describe myself. The other thing
is I'm not into party politics. I've told the DNC
NO on multiple occasions when they have made public records
(02:34):
requests that weren't appropriate. I talk about the importance of
giving voters better choices at the ballot box, that the
Democratic and the Republican parties don't solve enough problems to
deserve the little monopoly that they share in our choices.
You know, that makes a lot of Democrats upset, But
to most normal people who are frustrated with politics, it
(02:57):
sounds like someone's actually acknowledging what everybody knows, but what
politicians don't want to talk about because people in their
party want to just stick to the basics and not
say stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Rob sand who's currently state Auditor of Iowa and of
course is and asks his campaign to become the governor
of the state of Iowa, just to kind of expand
on the not really buying into party politics. It sounds
like something that many people would say, Well, that's great.
I'd love to hear a politician not be loyal to
(03:30):
their party. And just look out for the people they're
trying to serve. But I don't know if anybody really
knows exactly what that looks like. How can you achieve
the support you're hoping to get to become the governor
without the support directly of a political party.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, I am saying all the stuff that I've said
twice already, and I've already won statewide twice. I think
that makes a huge difference. And I think that the
honest truth is that most people, most rank and file
voters agree with me, even those that are in my party,
(04:07):
but a lot of independence and a lot of Republicans too,
And so I think the answer to that question is
I've already done it twice and I'll keep doing it.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
When we talk about the state of Iowa, you mentioned
growing up here, You mentioned being from the Kora, and
you know the things that the state of Iowa, you know,
the way it was when you were growing up in
the way that it is now. You mentioned education, you
mentioned cancer rates. What can you tell us about the
things that you would be able to change immediately if
(04:39):
you were elected governor within the power the governor happens
to have.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, you know Obviously, the governor's got to work with
the legislature. Right, we don't elect a king or a
queen or a dictator. We elect a governor. And most
of the big changes have got to go through the legislature.
And I think that's the piece of this. And you know,
is it change overnight on day one. There's some things
(05:08):
a governor can do. I would love to, for example,
do what we already did in the Auditor's office state
wide work, state wide jobs. We made it so that
people who work in the Auditor's office can live anywhere
in the state of Iowa. This is a key change
to help rural areas and small towns support their population levels,
(05:29):
maybe even grow. But if you're trying to make people
just sit in the cubicle in Des Moines five days
a week, while they're going to have to live within
a decent commute from Des Moines, we changed that in
the Auditor's office. I would change that for a huge
number of state employees to help those folks decide to
go anywhere. But a lot of that comes down to,
again the fact that big change would require working with
(05:52):
the legislature, and this would be a balance, you know,
part of The reason that government right now in Des
Moines is only really serving insiders and special interests is
they've had ten years of one party control. As we know,
the phrase goes power crups and absolute power, crups absolutely
and when you give them no checks and balances and
one party control for ten years, they get off into
(06:15):
the weeds doing stuff that most folks don't appreciate. And
so bringing balance back, forcing the parties to actually share
power with each other would help us get back to
sort of common sense solutions that the vast majority of
Iowans can agree on.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
We're speaking with Rob san who's running a campaign for
governor and is also state auditor on the show today.
So for you know, people who are listening to this,
we don't know who exactly your opponent's going to be.
There is not going to be an incumbent, as Governor
Kimer Nolds has announced she's not running for reelection. Many
people who are you know, moderates, independence and of course
(06:50):
Republicans think that she has been a very successful governor
of this state. Is there anything that comes to mind
for you, Rob, as you're starting this campaign of things
that you believe that the current governor of the State
of Iowa has done well for the people of this state.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh I was delighted to see action taken on cell
phones in schools. I think that's important. Our boys are
eight and eleven, they're in Iowa public schools. They don't
have phones yet, but if the kids next to them
are distracted, that impacts their learning experience too, So I
(07:25):
think that was a good one. There have been some
pieces of the government reorganization that I think were a
decent idea. We did not need thirty seven cabinet level
agencies in the state of Iowa. I'm not sure that
sixteen was the magic number, and I think that Iowans
should have been included a little bit more in those
conversations about eliminating unpaid volunteer boards where you can have
(07:48):
regular Isoland serving state government. But still I think that
some change there was necessary, and there are a lot
of things that passed with bipartisan support that I'd hang
my head on as well.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Robson joining us here on the phone line, I'm just
gonna ask you know, we're certainly gonna have an opportunity
to talk several times between now and election day, almost
a year and a half from now. So that's a
lot of time. How are you planning to continue to
be a successful state auditor while also trying to you know,
run a campaign and try to become a governor while
representing a political party that has not had a lot
(08:22):
of wins at the state level here in the last decade.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Efficiency Is that all?
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Is that all it's gonna take.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
I mean, that's the biggest piece of it. You know,
there's less time for hobbies in my life and that's
a sacrifice. But this is public service. So that's a
that's a big piece of it.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Efficiency all right, I know that you have somewhere to
be So I'm just gonna ask one last question for you.
I want people to know and try to humanize politics again.
And you've been a person that's very approachable and I
don't think that has a political label on it. Whether
you're a Republican or a Democrat, you've been politically approachable by,
(09:09):
you know, for a lot of people. What would be
your message to people that just are not interested in
hearing democrats or hearing the other side of the coin.
As we you know, kind of gear up over the
next twelve months for a big tough election cycle.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You know what I say to people across the state
is one party politics. You want that, try Russia or China.
But anybody that is effectively washed into one party or
the other, sooner or later, that party is going to
take advantage of you. And I say all the time,
it's not just if it's a one party state run
(09:44):
by Republicans. Look at the state of New York, look
at the state of California, Democratic trifectors there, and you
know what happens. You know what you'll find if you
go there, You'll find problems. The key here is when
when politicians think, when they believe but they can't possibly lose,
and that means that they think that they can do
anything they want right, And you'll find them thinking, well,
(10:06):
I don't have to actually solve any problems for anybody.
If I can just convince everybody the other side is worse.
That's a real problem, and I think there's solutions to that.
I think again, we should change our election system so
that the people actually decide who the candidates are and
instead of having the lesser of two evils kind of
(10:26):
rammed down our throats by two political parties. But that's
my message to those folks, let's make the system better,
because what you're going to get, no matter which party
it is, if you've got one party in control for
too long, is problems.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Rob Sandy is the state auditor of the State of Iowa.
Of course, is started his campaign to run for governor
for the state of Iowa. Rob, I really appreciate the time,
and I'm sure we'll talk again sometime very soon.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
See thanks for having me. Appreciate that
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