Rob Sand: There’s “Plenty of Ink in My Veto Pen” to Protect IPERS

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – Yesterday, candidate for governor Rob Sand drew more than 450 people to the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 125 union hall in Linn County for his 100 Town Hall Tour. At the town hall, Iowans filled the room with questions about protecting IPERS, fixing the damage done by Medicaid privatization, and restoring Iowa’s public schools to the crown jewel they once were.

You can learn more about Rob’s stop in Linn County below:

WATCH:

• Iowa’s News Now: Rob Sand on the Campaign Trail

  • “Sand says he sees this tour as a way to hear directly from Iowans, saying that they are ‘pretty fed up’ with politics.”

  • “I don’t think that labels are very effective at this point in politics, I’m more interested in telling people what I think about things and listening to them, and trying to figure out how we solve problems.”

READ:

• The Gazette: ‘Plenty of ink in my veto pen’: Rob Sand promises to protect Iowa’s public pension system

  • Asked during the town hall how he would protect the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, he said, if elected governor, he would keep “plenty of ink” in his veto pen for legislation that undermines IPERS.

  • “This is a promise that was made to Iowa workers, and I think we need to respect those promises,” Sand said.

  • Sand said Iowans he’s meeting are “fed up with politics,” worried about rising costs — including “double-digit health insurance increases” and higher electric bills — and don’t see leaders focused on their problems. He rejected ideological labels, saying he prefers problem-solving over tribalism: “Labels lead to people saying you’re either in the group or out of the group. We need fewer groups right now. We need more unity.”