The truck that stars in one of Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Gross’ t-v commercials made a splash in a small town south of Waterloo. Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack’s doing his annual walk through small towns, and just before he arrived in La Porte City Thursday — a big moving truck with the words “Vilsack Spending Company” pulled into town. The truck stars in an ad which asks “where did the money go?” — a shot from Gross at Vilsack for spending money in state reserve accounts to balance the state budget. Dorothy Thiele was behind the cash register at a La Porte City convenience store and got steamed when she saw the truck. She says it was a juvenile and petty stunt and says she wouldn’t vote for Gross for that reason. Donald Hayes of nearby Buckingham isn’t fond of Gross’ campaign ad either. He says the campaign implies some aspect of wrongdoing. He says candidates should elevate their campaigns and shouldn’t imply that someone is a crook. During a noon-time forum in La Porte City, Hayes asked Vilsack what he thought of the ad. Vilsack said the state still has nearly 850 million dollars in reserve accounts. And while Governors in other states resorted to raising taxes, Vilsack said he didn’t. He says they’ve made some tough decisions and have the lowest cost of state government in 20 years.
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