Vander Plaats makes campaign stop in Newton

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats made a campaign stop in Newton Wednesday, and state spending was high on his list of talking points.

“Iowa needs a governor who is finally going to control the ridiculous level of state government spending, and that’s exactly what I’ll do,” Vander Plaats said at the Pizza Ranch in Newton. “Governor Culver has increased government by $2 billion in two years, and his solution is an across-the-board cut. It takes no intellectual integrity to do an across-the-board cut,” he added.

Vander Plaats said Iowa is low among the states for small business climate, but number one in wage disparity between government and the private sector.

“We need a more competitive tax structure, one that is not being hostile to business, but gives a hand-up to new businesses,” he said.

Vander Plaats was the Republicans’ 2006 lieutenant governor nominee. He was a high school teacher and principal before being named chief executive officer of Opportunities Unlimited, a Sioux City non-profit organization that cares for people with head and spinal injuries. He and his wife Darla, have four sons.

Vander Plaats has stated that if elected governor, he will sign an executive order on his first day in office to put a stay on same-sex marriages until Iowans can vote on the issue.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, left, greets Pizza Ranch manager Troy Knight at the restaurant Wednesday during a campaign stop.