#robsand — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

We got close to downtown Independence and I told Joe to turn into the back parking lot. There are two entrances to The Sanity Room. One door opens up to downtown Main Street right at the T-intersection. And then out back, there is a patio overlooking the Wapsipinicon River with stairs leading down to the parking lot below. Perfect for a quick getaway… I had a hunch.

I realized that I didn’t fix my hair or take time to touch up my makeup, but there was no time for that now… It was GO TIME! I grabbed my binder and jumped out of the car. I was worried as I climbed the stairs because I could see a woman talking with a man, and her arms were crossed, holding something tight to her chest… a clipboard maybe? It looked like they were getting ready to leave and I thought maybe I had missed the person I was there to see! I smiled and nodded at the pair as I rushed between them, through the doors into the narrow hallway.

I saw the crowd, still seated, listening closely to what the man with the microphone was saying, and let out a huge sigh of relief… Thank the gods… I MADE IT!!

I zigzagged through another couple people and stopped where the room opens up into the bar, leaning against the wall. I turned to make sure I wasn’t blocking the view of the people behind me, which is always a concern when you are nearly 6 feet tall. And I saw that the two from the balcony followed behind me; they were talking with the first man I had passed on my way in.

The trio looked younger than me, probably mid to late 20s. The girl was shorter with dark brown hair past her shoulders, still carrying what I realized was a tablet or a small laptop in her arms. Beside her was a taller white guy with longer dishwater blond hair. He had an expensive professional camera hanging around his neck. The man closest to me had a darker complexion and a friendly face. The lanyard he wore was a dead give away… the three of them were volunteers, maybe even campaign staff.

“Will he be leaving out the front or the back?” I asked.

He confirmed the planned exit was out the back door, and I thanked him and asked his name. Sriman shook my hand and I offered the binder to him. I told him I had brought it to give to Rob Sand. I locked eye contact and leaned in to say “it’s very important that he get this.” I stammered a bit and mentioned there is a letter… I would like him to read it.

Sriman nodded and was quick to reassure me that he was riding in the car with Rob and he would make sure that he got it. I thanked him again quietly and turned my attention back to bar area, tryiig to catch the rest of the speech. I leaned against the wall again and listened as best I could. My mind was racing… I had prepared something to say. But the words weren’t coming to me.

Wait! I thought… I need to get a picture!

I asked Sriman to take a picture with me. He agreed and moved to stand beside me. I prepared for a selfie when the photographer offered to take it and reached out his hand for my phone. We turned to face the back door thinking that would be the better shot, but the sun was shining bright both ways. You can still make out Sriman’s smiling face through the sunbeams as we stood shoulder to shoulder in that hallway. It was a sincere moment that I won’t soon forget.

Photo Credit: My Motorola + DreamFace AI and shout out to Americans for Prosperity #OneSmallStep

As I turned back around, I was keenly aware of the team flipping through the pages of the binder I had given them. I sensed them whispering to each other, but I focused in on what the man of the hour was saying to the crowd.

Rob spoke a few minutes more, cracking a couple jokes, inciting laughter and applause from the audience. I enjoyed hearing him speak in person. I follow him on social media and have been a fan of his since before he announced that he was running for Governor. The news was more exciting than hearing Governor Reynolds wasn’t running for reelection.

Maybe you don’t know that Rob Sand is a Democrat, and he has served as Iowa’s Auditor of State since 2019. He emphasizes his dedication to serving ordinary Iowans instead of political insiders or special interest groups. The Wall Street Journal calls him “the Democrat Who Republicans Fear in Red-State America.” During his speech, he reported that he has had more campaign contributions from Republican donors than any other Democrat candidate in Iowa history! And that doesn’t surprise me one bit… Iowans on both sides of the aisle can relate to the messages he shares.

Interested in making a contribution to Rob San’d’s campaign? Click here

His campaign focuses on bipartisanship and government accountability, paying special attention to the platforms of lowering costs and cancer rates and fighting corruption. As a father of two boys, he also stresses the importance of education and fixing our broken healthcare system. And his 100 Town Hall Tour plans a stop in all 99 of Iowa’s counties, featuring visits to local establishments for grassroots, face-to-face dialog with his constituents in his bid to be Iowa’s next Governor.

He caught my attention with the way he called out Governor Reynolds for interfering with the duties of his office. I follow him on social media and I appreciate his down-to-earth quick wit and sense of humor. I was in awe hearing him speak in person. His sincerity and dedication filled the room.

I watched as Sriman made his way toward the bar with my binder tucked under his arm, and that was the sign that things were wrapping up. I realized I was dying of thirst in that moment, so I pulled my water bottle out of my purse. I watched intently as Sriman leaned in to whisper something to Rob as he waved to the crowd. They turned toward me, Sriman looked right at me and held eye contact as he approached purposefully. I was stunned when he said, “So you can walk us out if you want?”

“Ummm…. Yeah!”

OMG! I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity! I hurried to put the cap back on my water bottle and tucked it back in my purse. And before I knew it I was walking alongside Rob down the hallway. I cleared my throat and started by saying, “I brought something for you and I have been working on it for years…”

We crossed the threshold out onto the balcony and I continued, “It is an evidentiary record that I have been building about Iowa HHS.”

I heard him say “Oh?”and I could sense a bit of skepticism. Which is understandable, a reaction I am used to by now.

“I know that Iowa just signed a contract with Google and I am concerned…”

My words trailed off and a pang of anxiety hit me. I knew I didn’t have long to get my point across. He slowed to look me in the face and gestured that I go down the stairs ahead of him.

I took a deep breath, tilted my head toward him, and said, “There are new workers training new workers across the state, right.. and that is the narrative that will be feeding the AI… but no one is listening to the family’s voice.”

We reached the ground and he made a point to look me in the eye. “Can you send me the files?”

I held his gaze, hoping to convey both my sincerity and determination, and replied,“Yes, I will be.”

Rob reached out his hand with a firm handshake and said he would look at it. I matched his energy with a firm grip in response and I could tell that I had made an impression. I thanked him sincerely and we said goodbye. I was thrilled to realized there was a photographer standing 15 or so feet away from us, no doubt getting excellent shots of our exchange. (Still trying to get in touch and hopefully get a copy of that photo to post here!0

Rob got in the car, and I stood there kind of shellshocked for a minute before I turned back to head up the stairs once again. I wasn’t leaving without a yard sign! I asked before grabbing one of the signs from the woman posted up right inside the door, thanked her, and went back down the stairs to look for Jim and Joe.

Wandering toward the river, I felt the enormity of what had just happened and the weight lift off my shoulders. I smiled to myself and took a deep breath, tears welling up in my eyes. I heard Jim call for me, and I walked toward him as the emotions took over. I started sobbing tears of joy when he wrapped his arms around me.

“Oh my God, Jim, I got to walk him to his car! And he listened!”

We got in the car and I turned to Joe. “Did you hear that Joe? I GOT TO WALK HIM TO HIS CAR!”

As I sit here typing this, happy tears well over and it still amazes me how it all went down…

I spent most of the night working, writing and rewriting, putting the current review packet together- a preview of the work I have spent virtually every second on since the end of January. The day had been a roller coaster of emotions already! Forcing myself to be done with it…. Running to the library quick to print… the strange calm I felt as I got ready… The anxiety that grew the closer it got to 1 o’clock… The multiple messages that I sent out to anyone I could think of… Getting on Snapchat to hit up anyone that I saw in the area…

I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t make it when Joe answered my call. He said we would have to get gas before we left, and everything felt like we were moving in slow motion, the way things do when you are running late. But we were finally on the road heading north outta town, catching up on life stuff as I tucked papers into the sheet protectors. And before I knew it we were pulling in the parking lot.

Every minute of it was so surreal… I couldn’t have written a better meet cute. I couldn’t have asked for the exchange to have gone any smoother.

You might call it luck, and part of it is. It is true that, despite my struggles, I have been very blessed many times in my life with being in the right place, at the right time. By the grace of the gods, that’s for sure.

But this time was different. I wasn’t just lucky… no. I earned that spot. Reminds me of that saying: “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

I also think it is ironic, too, that I had signed up for two other Town Hall events for Rob Sand. The first was in Washington, Iowa on the 10th of August. I initially planned for that location because that is where my children lived when they were taken by the state. That is where Ashley and her husband faced felony charges, where I showed up to confront them at a court date on the 5 year anniversary for the hearing to terminate my parental rights … and its where I was there to bear witness to the hearing on February 6th, 2025 when I learned the whole truth about what she had done. I loved the thought of the irony in that… but Washington is a near impossible trip when you can’t drive.

The second location on the list was just four days later, he was scheduled to come to Vinton. I graduated from Vinton-Shellsburg… Class of 2003. Vinton is also the county seat, and headquarters for the Benton County DHS… the very office that took my children. The same office where I deliver hand-painted pumpkins every Halloween in honor of my family… the only holiday tradition I have left. My little peaceful protest to make sure they never forget… and a way for me to share the research I had uncovered in years past. I saw a last minute message the night before that the venue had changed to Belle Plaine, which is 45 minutes away.

From Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl

And I knew I had one other solid opportunity after Independence. Rob is scheduled to be in Linn County on the 23rd of September (if you are interested in attending Rob Sand’s Linn County Town Hall, you can register for this event here)… nearly a month out and I knew that venue and a much larger crowd wouldn’t allow for nearly as intimate of an encounter. My ties to Linn County are many, from the countless patients I cared for in virtually every town on the map, to my many weekend stays at the Linn County Hotel…

So I knew that the Sanity Room in Independence was my best shot. Independence is also where I was living when they first stole my children. I had just gotten a house and was finally getting back on my feet when the world crashed in around me yet again. I caught more charges in that two year time span… nearly doubling my criminal record. It felt like I was featured on Mobile Patrol every other week! And I will never forget the devastation and despair I felt packing up our belongings and trying to cram a 3 bedroom house into an 8×10 foot storage unit… Of course I had no way of knowing back then that it was the last time I would hear from them. That is the most devastating part of all.

But all of those bittersweet memories are overshadowed by this new one. I am humbled, and proud, and grateful, and really, I am just in awe of it all… I don’t know what else to say but life sure is a trip. The highs and the lows…. A beautiful, crazy, tragic, magical trip…

Anyways, I gotta get back to work. Plenty more to do to get ready for the next adventure! <3

Til next time… Love Ashley xoxo

Learn more on the Petition to Audit Iowa HHS Public Transparency Page

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