Vander Plaats sees need for action

Bob Vander Plaats' almost decade-long pursuit of the governorship is due in part to one of his competitors.

When former Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Vander Plaats to serve on the Advisory Council for Brain Injuries during his last term, Vander Plaats got a taste of the inner workings of government, and he didn't like what he saw, he said recently.

As part of the council, Vander Plaats proposed changes the state could make to better serve people with disabilities. The plan, in his mind, was smart and economically sound, but it went nowhere.

“If you have a win-win scenario, it should be a no-brainer they should move ahead, but they wanted to stay stuck in the system,” Vander Plaats said.

What he saw as a lack of action and leadership made him want to get involved in politics at the state level. Now the former high school principal and basketball coach is in his third campaign for the Republican nomination for governor. In addition to Branstad, State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, is also pursuing the nomination.

Over the last decade, Vander Plaats has transformed himself from a northwest Iowan with little name recognition outside of the region to a major player in the Republican Party of Iowa, especially among social and religious conservatives. As Mike Huckabee's Iowa campaign director, Vander Plaats helped usher the former Arkansas governor to victory in the 2008 Iowa presidential caucuses.

His top three priorities — revamping Iowa's tax structures, economic growth and reducing state regulation of K-12 schools — aren't attention-grabbing propositions. But he has made his name in this campaign, in part, by declaring an unyielding commitment to causes dear to social conservatives, such as banning same-gender marriage and working against abortion rights.

That commitment earned Vander Plaats the endorsement of the Iowa Family Political Action Committee, which has said it will sit out the election if Branstad wins the nomination.

“The fight between Branstad and Vander Plaats is a fight over the direction of the party,” said Dennis Goldford, a Drake University political science professor. “Does the party focus on centrist, business-oriented conservatism — Branstad — or more right-wing populist social conservatism?”

Vander Plaats has pledged that, on his first day in office as governor, he would issue an executive order halting all marriages between same-gender couples. Same-gender marriages in Iowa began in 2009 after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturned a 1998 law banning gay marriage.

Many constitutional scholars have said that governors don't have the authority to do that, but Vander Plaats is insistent.

“I believe not only is it in my authority and in my right, I believe it is absolutely negligent of me as governor if I don't hold the court in check when I know they went out of bounds,” Vander Plaats said.

His certainty on the issues of marriage and life stems in large part from his Christian faith, which Vander Plaats said “defines who I am.”

That faith took on great importance after his third son, Lucas, was born with a brain disorder in 1993. That rare disorder meant a lifetime of serious disabilities and round-the-clock care for his son.

Raising Lucas has given the entire Vander Plaats family a “heart for people,” said Ruth Klein, who worked as Vander Plaats' assistant both when he was a principal and when he was at Opportunities Unlimited, an organization he later led.

Vander Plaats frequently points to his tenure as a teacher, coach and principal as proof of his leadership skills.

“He was a very good disciplinarian, a good leader for the staff,” said Lonnie Boekhout, English teacher at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High school, where Vander Plaats was principal.

Vander Plaats has also called himself the “turnaround CEO,” touting his work as CEO of Opportunities Unlimited, which offers residential rehabilitation to people with traumatic spinal cord injuries, brain injuries or other physical disabilities.

Vander Plaats said that, when he began working for the organization, the group was facing closure and had 54 pages of cited problems. He said that when he left the group had over $2 million and had fixed all of its deficiencies.

A former primary campaign opponent, Rep. Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, accused Vander Plaats of exaggerating his record, saying he left Opportunities Unlimited in poor financial shape. Also, in recent days, a former CEO of the organization, Jackie Kibbie-Williams, told the Sioux City Journal that Vander Plaats was fired from the organization in 2002 for not fulfilling fundraising duties.

Vander Plaats has denied that he was fired and has defended his record at Opportunities Unlimited.

“I'll stand on that record all day long about what happened and what we did there,” Vander Plaats said.

Being a coach, teacher, principal and CEO are sufficient leadership credentials to be governor, said Vander Plaats, who has not held elected office. This year, he said, people are tired of government insiders.

“Our supporters and growing base of support are not interested in someone who has been governor for 16 years who now wants to be governor for 20 years,” Vander Plaats said, referring to Branstad. “They want fresh, bold leadership out of the private sector.”

Contact the writer:

444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com

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