Bruce Rastetter not seeking job in Trump administration

Despite serving on Donald Trump's agriculture advisory committee during the presidential campaign, Board of Regents President and agribusiness entrepreneur Bruce Rastetter on Friday said he's not looking for a job within the Department of Agriculture under the new administration.

'Nor do I intend to get one there,” Rastetter said during a taping for Iowa Public Television's Iowa Press. 'I enjoy the life that I have and the variety of investments that we do, and agriculture and the Board of Regents.”

Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Rastetter - a self-made millionaire through feed, swine and energy production companies - to the Board of Regents in 2011. Before his appointment and since, Rastetter has earned the reputation of a political kingmaker for his significant contributions to a variety of campaigns, including Branstad locally and Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie nationally.

Rastetter was, in fact, among the donors who encouraged Branstad to run for re-election in 2009.

During his tenure atop the board that governs Iowa's public universities, Rastetter has taken heat on a variety of issues, including potential conflicts of interest, a perceived lack of transparency, a funding proposal that could have stripped tens of millions from the University of Iowa, and the controversial hire of UI President Bruce Harreld in 2015.

His first term on the board will expire in April, and Rastetter on Friday said he hasn't yet decided whether to seek reappointment. Regent appointees must receive support from 34 senators to be confirmed, meaning - even with the Republican gains in the last election, giving them 29 members and a majority - board appointees need at least five votes from the other side of the aisle.

If he does throw in his name for another six years, Rastetter said he thinks he would have the necessary legislative support.

'I think I would, but I have to make a decision as to whether that makes sense or not for a variety of reasons,” he said. 'I'll be thinking through that and having some discussions with senators.”

Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, is among the senators to whom Rastetter has reached out in gauging support. Dvorsky told The Gazette on Friday, 'There is no way I would be able to support him for a second term.”

'There are just too many problems with all the regents - a lot of major problems occurred under his watch,” Dvorsky said, noting particular concerns on the UI campus. 'It's a major problem - especially in my area.”

The governor's office to date has collected a list of about 20 Board of Regents applicants. That list includes incumbents Katie Mulholland and Sherry Bates. Mike Richards, who was appointed in May during the Legislative offseason to replace Mary Andringa after she resigned, also has to be confirmed this session.

Rastetter has not yet filed paperwork seeking reappointment, according to Ben Hammes, a spokesman for the governor's office. Hammes said appointments from Branstad are due to lawmakers by March 1 and they'll have 45 days to act on them. The next term on the Board of Regents begins May 1.

When asked if he's spoken with Branstad recently on the topic of reappointment, Rastetter on Friday said he has.

'Gov. Branstad has been extremely supportive of the regents and myself,” he said. 'We have a good positive relationship.”

When articulating why he might want to continue on the board, Rastetter said, 'It has been one of the really unique challenging experiences that I've had in life, and I think we have made a significant impact.”

Among the achievements he listed is re-establishing a transparent relationship with the Legislature that has meant funding increases of about $80 million over the last six years. Rastetter also cited two and a half years of frozen resident undergraduate tuition and noted the board's hire of new presidents at all three universities.

'There's a lot of work to be done, but I also have another life at Summit (Agricultural Group),” he said.

He noted that past Board of Regents presidents also have been marred by some degree of controversy.

'Marvin Pomerantz, Michael Gartner, David Miles, Craig Lang, John Forsythe, all of the presidents of the Board of Regents have not been without their own challenges on moving the system forward,” Rastetter said. 'It's a big system, Iowans take it seriously. I do, and I tried to accomplish things as president.”

But Rastetter also acknowledged mistakes were made - specifically noting the recent storm around ISU President Steven Leath's use of university airplanes.

'The board reacted to it properly ... as we learned things, we conducted an independent audit, had every flight audited,” Rastetter said. 'No one tried to hide anything. We had that public audit, and we tried to be very open that people are going to make mistakes, we're going to make mistakes, but it's how we react to those in a very open way that I think is important.”

Watch clips from Rastetter's Iowa Press appearance at iptv.org