Adam Steen, a Republican candidate for the Governor of Iowa, made an appearance at The Vine Coffeehouse in Ottumwa and spoke to around a dozen people in the midst of a Saturday snowstorm.
Steen talked with Ottumwa Radio News before his event and explained why he decided to run for governor.
“I jumped in the race to preserve and protect the culture of Iowa and preserve and protect the freedom that Iowa has,” Steen said.
In August, Steen resigned as the Director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services when he announced his candidacy. He says his four years of experience in Governor Kim Reynolds’ administration separates him from other candidates.
“I can get right to work on Day One,” he told the assemblage. “I know who [from the Reynolds administration] I would keep and who I would not…There’s not a resume that can stand up to mine.”
Steen joins a crowded GOP field that includes Congressman Randy Feenstra, Iowa State Representative Eddie Andrews, business owner Zach Lahn, and Brad Sherman, a pastor and former state representative.
Steen calls himself the biggest advocate of skilled trades and will emphasize those occupations as governor.
“We need plumbers. We need electricians…We need to make trades cool again and I’ll be the largest promoter of those trades because that’s where jobs are created. That’s where businesses are created and I think that’s the future of Iowa.”
Steen lives in Runnells, a small town outside of Des Moines. Steen was accompanied by his wife Kasey, two sons (Ryker and Maverick), mother-in-law, and father-in-law.
