“Let’s get a lot of people out to vote,” Hubbell said at the county Democratic Party headquarters in Fort Dodge. “We don’t have a very good record as Democrats turning out in off years. So we need to correct that, otherwise we’re going to be in trouble.”

Hubbell spoke on restoring collective bargaining rights, getting incomes rising, and protecting water quality, but he said the things that need the most work are education, health care and infrastructure, during a seven-minute stump speech before the gathered volunteers set off to knock on doors throughout the city.

“Let’s invest in infrastructure. … We need a lot more roads and bridges fixed all across the state. We need high speed internet. And we need affordable housing,” Hubbell said.

Housing is a concern he’s heard specifically in Fort Dodge, as well as other towns.

-Messenger photo by Joe Sutter
Fred Hubbell, Democratic candidate for governor, talks with Mike Trotter at Webster County Democratic headquarters Sunday. Hubbell spoke on education, infrastructure and health care visions for the state before encouraging the volunteers on their way out to knock on doors throughout the city.

“I’ve heard examples here; you’re trying to recruit teachers and having a hard time to do it, because you need more new housing,” Hubbell said. “That’s true all across Iowa. Oelwein, they tried to recruit a business to move to Oelwein. The company had some executives go visit the town. They couldn’t find any housing, so they went someplace else. That’s happening way too often in our state. That’s part of infrastructure.”

Hubbell said the Vision Iowa program, which makes investments all over the state, should be expanded to help with affordable housing. This would only be available if communities are willing to pitch in.

“If Fort Dodge has trouble recruiting a teacher because they can’t find housing, and local people are willing to chip in and put together some of the capital to build some housing in Fort Dodge, the state will partner with the local community,” he said. “It has to be local leadership and local funding partnered with the state. The state’s not going to do it itself.”

Hubbell spoke against the privatization of Iowa’s Medicaid system, which began under then-Governor Terry Branstad and continued under his successor Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“Despite what you here from somebody else in this campaign, it’s not getting any better,” he said. “It’s getting worse all the time. It’s getting more expensive all the time, too.”

Iowa’s mental health system is in crisis, Hubbell said, and it will take both good ideas and good money management to solve it.

“Her bill is a lot of good ideas, but it just pushes the cost down to local communities like Fort Dodge, and other small communities all over the state,” Hubbell said. “Most communities don’t have the money to do what’s in that bill.”

The small room at the Democrats’ office was packed. Volunteers are going out frequently now, and meeting every weekend, said Kim Motl, former Webster County supervisor.

“And it’s worth it,” she said. “People are upset about education and health care.

“I love knocking on doors. I love talking with people. I’ve talked to Democrats, Republicans, no party,” Motl added. “People have been very kind.”

Deb Kelleher is one of the volunteers making calls for candidates. She said she gets to events whenever she can, so she can meet potential lawmakers in person.

“I like to meet the candidates face to face, instead of just seeing them on TV,” Kelleher said. “I just think it’s so important for everybody to be involved in these decisions.

“I just feel like when I believe in somebody I want to do everything I can to help them get elected.”

Also at the event was Tim Gannon, Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, who is also trying to turn out the vote in these last 10 days before the election.

He traveled Sunday from Fort Dodge to Pocahontas, Rockwell City, and then Sac City knocking on doors. While there may be a lot of Republicans in that area, Gannon said he had a message for all voters.

“I think Democrats, Republicans, no party, they’re all a little anxious about what’s going on in the farm economy right now,” Gannon said. “We’re talking about profitability for farmers from day one in this campaign, because in my experience growing up in the 1980s, if the farmers aren’t doing well, it hurts the rest of Iowa’s economy.”

Short term that means opposing “bad policy” on trade and biofuels coming from Washington, D.C., he said. Long term, the state needs investments that will increase the markets for what the farmers grow and raise.

“Echoing what Fred said, I think we need to invest more in conservation. I think the next governor, the next legislature need to fund the Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation trust fund,” he said.