The war of words between Republican gubernatorial hopefuls Bob Vander Plaats and Chris Rants has moved from press releases to the airwaves, with both men defending their positions on the show of controversial radio host Steve Deace.

Bob Vander Plaats, right, and Chris Rants

Bob Vander Plaats, right, and Chris Rants

Last week, Rants attacked Vander Plaats’ time as leader of the Sioux City non-profit Opportunities Unlimited. Rants said revenue plummeted and debt increased under Vander Plaats, concluding that the organization “tanked financially during his tenure as CEO and chairman.”

Vander Plaats condemned the attack as false since it includes his tenure as chairman of the board, a time when he was not in charge of the organization’s budget.

In an interview with Deace, Vander Plaats called Rants a liar.

“To take pot shots when you’re trying to build yourself up, to be quite honest with you, is very disappointing,” he said.

Vander Plaats campaign chair and former state auditor Richard Johnson also questioned Rants’ conclusions, saying the veteran legislator doesn’t understand how nonprofits operate financially. He called the statements by Rants “unacceptable” and said he couldn’t work for a campaign that was “willing to put false information out.”

Rants told Deace that Johnson is only looking at Vander Plaats’ years as CEO. Because he was receiving a healthy salary as chairman of the board, Vander Plaats must be held accountable for those years as well.

“I don’t think you would say to me, ‘Chris, I’m only going to critique your record from 1996 to 2000,’” he said. “You’ve got to look at Bob’s record from 2001, 2002 and 2003 when he was chairman of the board.”

While he doesn’t question the work that Opportunities Unlimited has done, the numbers show that under Vander Plaats’ leadership the group saw their revenue go down and their deficits increase.

“Bottom line is, Bob Vander Plaats is taking a page out of Chet Culver’s playbook,” Rants said. “Culver says don’t worry about the deficit, we have a AAA bond rating. Bob likes to talk about the fact that they started this program or had fewer deficiencies, so don’t pay attention to the deficit. But the fact is if you look at the audit… it shows they were running operational deficits.”

If deficits aren’t a big deal, then “you shouldn’t be upset with the [Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium] board or the Enron scandal. If Microsoft goes under, don’t blame Bill Gates, because he’s only chairman of the board.”

This is the third public spat between fellow Sioux City Republicans Rants and Vander Plaats. Vander Plaats attacked Rants’ position on same-sex marriage in June, and last month Rants attacked Vander Plaats’ stance on health care reform.

In addition to Rants and Vander Plaats, four other men are seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination: Paul McKinley, Christian Fong, Rod Roberts and Jerry Behn.