Hubbell: Pledging to restore Iowa opportunities

We need change this November. As Gov. Kim Reynolds promises more of the same failed policies that are hurting Iowans, I want to deliver the change Iowans need.

We need a governor with the leadership skills and experience to produce a balanced budget with the right priorities and who will work in a bipartisan, common-sense manner for all Iowans. It starts with stopping wasteful tax giveaways and putting people first. I've managed complex budgets my entire life, and have a proven record delivering results in the public and private sectors.

I'm proud to have Sen. Rita Hart as my running mate. Rita is a natural leader who has spent her life working on the farm and in the classroom to make Iowa a better place.

We want to give hardworking families the support they deserve while investing in the services they need. We have three key priorities: improving health care, investing in education and getting incomes rising in every community.

We need to make sure every Iowan has access to quality, affordable health care. On day one, we'll start reversing Gov. Reynolds' disastrous privatization of Medicaid, which has left 40,000 Iowans without care and shuttered providers.

We will address Iowa's mental health and substance abuse crises and restore funding to Planned Parenthood.

We want to improve our environmental health by protecting air and water quality and preserving topsoil. This is not a rural or urban issue, this is an Iowa issue.

We think all Iowans deserve access to quality, lifelong learning. We will invest in our public education system by fully funding universal pre-K and quality K-12 to ensure higher education is affordable. We need to make job training more accessible in every high school by supporting public-private partnerships, trade apprenticeship programs and community colleges.

Finally, we need to get incomes rising. We must restore collective bargaining rights and the workers' compensation system. We also need to invest in infrastructure by expanding broadband internet access and improving affordable housing.

It's time to restore opportunities, not reduce them. It's time to invest in people again. And it's time to work across the aisle for all Iowans. I know if we stand united, we will turn this state around and get Iowa growing the right way.

' Fred Hubbell is the Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa.

All candidate guest columns in the race for Governor:

' Fred Hubbell

' Jake Porter

' Kim Reynolds

' Gary Siegwarth