Fred Hubbell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fred Hubbell
Personal details
Born	Frederick Shelton Hubbell (1951-04-25) April 25, 1951 (age 73) Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Charlotte Beyer
Children	3
Education	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA) University of Iowa (JD)

Frederick Shelton Hubbell (born April 25, 1951) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in the 2018 election. Before running for office, Hubbell served as Chair of the Younkers retail department stores in the 1980s and President of Equitable of Iowa. He served as Acting Director of the Department of Economic Development of Iowa and as Chair of the Iowa Power Fund in the 2000s.

Biography

Hubbell was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law. While attending law school, Fred met his wife, Charlotte. They reside in Des Moines and have three adult children and three grandchildren.

After graduating from law school, Hubbell worked as an attorney in New York City. In 1981, Hubbell and his wife were held hostage during the 1981 Pakistan International Airlines hijacking.

Private career

Hubbell began working for Equitable of Iowa Companies in 1983. Equitable was a life insurance company originally founded by his great-great grandfather, Frederick M. Hubbell, in the 1860s. In 1985, Hubbell became Chairman of Equitable's Younkers retail department store subsidiary. In 1987, he became President of Equitable. While at Equitable, he led day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives and was given credit for "orchestrating a revival of the once sleepy corporation." He continued as president until the company was acquired by ING Group in 1997.

In 2009, Governor Chet Culver appointed Hubbell as Acting Director of the Department of Economic Development of Iowa to help clean up hundreds of millions of dollars in waste related to a film tax scandal. During his tenure, Hubbell helped conduct a Tax Credit Review Panel, identifying $160 million in tax credits and incentives that were producing little return for Iowa that could be eliminated or repurposed to better serve the state. Additionally, Hubbell served as Chair of the Iowa Power Fund Board of Directors from 2007 to 2010, tasked with investing $100 million in wind and renewable energy across Iowa.

In February 2019, Hubbell was injured in a bicycle crash in Arizona, according to a statement from his wife Charlotte. Hubbell made a full recovery.

Philanthropic work

Hubbell has worked and served with a large variety of nonprofits and philanthropic organizations.

Following the 2008 flood in Eastern Iowa, Hubbell helped lead a disaster relief campaign, The Embrace Iowa - 2008 Iowa Disaster Fund, donating nearly $8 million for local organizations aiding flood victims. Fred and Charlotte Hubbell also helped Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines to expand their mental health facility, helping to increase their number of mental health beds by fifty percent and add two new psychiatrists.

2018 campaign for Governor of Iowa

On July 17, 2017, Hubbell announced his candidacy for Governor of Iowa. On July 24, his campaign announced it had raised more than $1 million, a record total for any Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Iowa Governor, and on January 18, 2018, announced he had raised more than $3 million since launching his campaign. Hubbell was widely seen as a front-runner in the Democratic primary, polling at the top in the field and fundraising more than twice as much as his primary opponents.

On November 14, 2017, Iowa Starting Line released a poll showing Hubbell leading the Democratic primary earning 22% support, 9% more than any other candidate. The poll also showed Hubbell leading the field in favorability (50% favorable, 7% unfavorable). A later poll by The Des Moines Register showed similar results, with Hubbell earning the highest favorability of any Democratic candidate. On January 18, 2018, Hubbell's campaign announced it had raised more than $3 million in 2017, receiving a contribution from all of Iowa's 99 counties, and 99.8% of the contributions coming from individual donors. The more than $3 million fundraising total set an off-election year record in the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa.

Hubbell received 55% of the vote in the Democratic primary to become the party's nominee for Governor of Iowa. He faced the Republican incumbent, Kim Reynolds and the Libertarian candidate, Jake Porter, in the general election, which was held on November 6, 2018. He narrowly lost to Reynolds.