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ELECTION 2018GOP: Hubbell doesn’t care about employees, lowansHubbell campaign: Gross distortion shows Republicans are ‘desperate’By James Q. Lynch,Gazette Des Moines BureauCEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Republicans are keeping up their attack on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbell for what they call his “consistent record of bettering himself while leaving lowans behind.”The Republican Party of Iowa brought its “Fired by Fred” campaign to Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann hammered the former department store executive for putting profits and his own compensation ahead of employees of Hubbell-owned Younk-ers stores in the 1980s and ’90s.The party has tied to decisions they attribute to Hubbell to close some stores in the Younkers chain, lay off employees and cut wages and benefits. Hubbell’s record, Kaufmann said, put “profits over people before selling off the company to get a good deal for himself.”Hubbell, he said, shrank wages and benefits while his compensation increased by 61 percent, and shifted $60 million of revenue from Younkers to Equitable Life and Casualty, also owned by the Hubbell family.At the time, Younkers saidthe stores were not losing money but “drained too much corporate overhead.”“Of course, some of that overhead was his salary,” Kaufmann said.Hubbell and his campaign have been dismissive of the ad and its attack line, saying that rather than focusing on decisions made 30 years ago, the campaign should be about tomorrow.“We’re talking about the future. Today’s Jeffwh at’s impo rtant, ” Ka ufm a n nHubbell said recently. lowa G0PHubbell said the deci- chairmansi on to close the Ottumwa store was announced in 1984, before he joined Younkers. Two other stores were closed after he had taken on responsibilities for Equitable and no longer was involved in Younkers’ day-to-day operations.Following the GOP news conference, the Hubbell campaign called the attacks “desperate.”“While Fred Hubbell’s record is one of creating jobs across Iowa and personally paying to add mental health treatment beds when the state slashed funding, Kim Reynolds’ record is rich with closing mental health institutes, laying off over 2,100 lowans, and shuttering 36 workforce centers across ruralFred HubbellDemocraticgubernatorialnomineeIowa,” Hubbell spokeswoman Remi Yamamoto said.“These desperate attacks by Republicans and Gov. Reynolds highlight just how vulnerable and desperate they are without a positive record to run on and a lackluster general election start,” Yamamoto said. “They have to resort to grossly distorting information against Fred Hubbell from over 30 years ago.”Kaufmann defended the line of attack, saying it illustrates Hubbell having a dismissive attitude about the effect on those employees and communities affected by pay cuts and store closings.He also questioned Hubbell’s vision for Iowa, predicting a shift from a thriving economy and balanced state budget to the situation that existed under the last Democratic governor, Chet Culver, which led to a 10 percent across-the-board budget cut.“At least, Chet Culver did it because he was unprepared,” Kaufmann said. “I think Fred Hubbell is going to do it because it was planned out, just like shifting $60 million was planned out.”• Comments: (319) 39S-S375; j a rn e s. I yn ch @th eg azette. co rnELECTIONS
Newspaper Details
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Wed, Jul 25, 2018
Page 3
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WI, USA 09 Oct 2021
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