VOTER GUIDE 2012: Q and A With Rod Blum, Congressional Candidate Who Wants to Challenge Braley

Name: Rod Blum 

Age: 57

Political party: Republican

Running for: Challenging in the June 5 primary. The winner will challenge Democrat Bruce Braley for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first district of Iowa.

Occupation: CEO of a software company, Digital Canal Inc.

1. Why did you decide to run for office?

I’m running for Congress because we need representation in Washington that will work on restoring the American Dream. Many Americans don’t believe that their children will lead a better life than they have, and we have to fix this. Every generation in this country has lived better than the previous – I am fighting to keep that dream alive. And many citizens in the First District correctly believe that Washington DC is broken - Congress itself needs to be reformed.  Citizens are tired of politics as usual.

2. What issues do you want to address if elected?

I believe it is a necessity to tackle the issue of debt and jobs in this economy. Today our national debt stands at a staggering $15 trillion. Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year will be approximately $15 trillion – therefore our national debt equals 100 percent of our GDP. That’s not good. Most leading economists agree that as a country’s debt grows, it’s economy will contract and job disappear. As a business owner myself, I know the biggest obstacle to creating jobs is uncertainty. Right now, about the only thing businesses are certain of are higher taxes, more regulations, rising energy costs and the unknown health care burdens of ObamaCare.

3. Why should voters choose you over your opponents in this race?

I believe in a citizen legislature instead of professional politicians who look at Washington D.C. as a career. This is why I strongly support term limits for the U.S. House and Senate, and I pledge to you that if I am elected, I will limit my own term to six years or three terms. I am an experienced job creator, and for Republicans to win this seat, we have to show a contrast to the incumbent lawyer Bruce Braley. To replace a career lawyer politician (Braley) with another lawyer (my opponent) who covets a career in politics is not a winning formula.

4. What is your background?

I was born and raised in Dubuque.  I have raised my five children in a Christian, church-going household. I worked my way through college in Dubuque, earned a degree in business and landed a job in the computer industry.  I was the fifth employee at a software company, became the CEO and created 350 jobs in just five years. Our payroll grew from about $100,000 a year to over $10,000,000 a year. That company went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. As the Chief Executive Officer, I received the Iowa Entrepreneur of the Year award.  I am also a high school volunteer basketball coach, conservative columnist and student pilot.