PHOTO BY BERLEEN WOBETER - Democratic U.S. House candidate Clint Twedt-Ball, right, interacts with Glen Sailsbury of Dysart, left, during a stop at the Toledo Public Library last Saturday morning.

On Saturday morning, Jan. 31, at the Toledo Public Library, Democrat Clint Twedt-Ball, a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives District 2 — a seat currently held by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), who is now running for a seat in the U.S. Senate — took three curious Tama County residents on a journey from his boyhood shenanigans in rural Iowa to his present run for federal office.

Taking into account the small gathering, Clint made a quick pivot from stump speech to a four-way conversation. He took advantage of the small group format to talk, listen, and learn, his hallmark approach to beginning any work directed at the needs of people.

He described his growing up as living the “dangerous small town life,” referring to having fun playing around dangerous things like trains, grain bins, farm chemical storage units and games of “junkyard tag.” From small town Iowa, he moved to Des Moines in middle school and led a self-described unruly and somewhat directionless life until his pastor father caught his attention with the following words.

“You have incredible gifts and you need to use them,” he said.

Those words made an impact, and Twedt-Ball went on to graduate from the University of Iowa and complete seminary. After his ordination, he moved to Cedar Rapids where he pastored a United Methodist Church.

Seeing a need and willing to risk loss of comfort and certainty for a higher calling to serve middle class folks, Clint canvassed Iowans to understand just what his new calling to service would entail.

This resulted in a conversation with his brother in Iowa City and the creation of the nonprofit Matthew 25 Ministries in Cedar Rapids, which coincided with the tragic 2008 floods. What followed were years of building up a ministry to meet the needs of Cedar Rapidians affected by the floods. Money was raised, staff hired, houses rehabbed, neighborhoods helped, tools shared, gardens planted, and lessons taught and learned.

The second Trump administration undercut the work of his and other nonprofits through funding cuts and caused Twedt-Ball to once again ask “how can I best serve those in need.” The question turned into “run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives” as the answer.

Twedt-Ball then went on to identify his priorities if elected, reflecting his understanding of the needs of those he served and the stories he heard as he again surveyed the public for input during his decision making process.

With his “ridiculously optimist” approach to life, he listed rural revitalization, accessible and affordable healthcare, education that allows one to achieve their God-given potential, water quality, reasonable immigration enforcement and holding the current administration accountable for the “chaos” they are sewing as a partial list of his goals. In a unique twist he identifies assets in our part of the state that he is proud of and ground and inspires the work ahead such as Mississippi River, beautiful driftless region, best in the world farmland and soils, the unique inspiration and presence of the Meskwaki tribal lands, and economic drivers in aerospace engineering and medical facilities.

Throughout his comments, Twedt-Ball focused on what he could do to target the needs of those in his district and not on how an elected position might benefit him. Here, he made a clear distinction between himself and Joe Mitchell, the likely Republican nominee. Twedt-Ball explained how during President Trump’s recent visit to Iowa, Trump gave Mitchell his full and complete endorsement, followed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s endorsement. Coinciding with these endorsements was the decision by five-term Republican Iowa House Rep. Shannon Lundgren’s announcement to drop out of the race.

Mitchell served two terms in the Iowa House starting at the young age of 20. Then after redistricting, he lost to Jeff Shipley. He moved on to start a nonprofit developing young Republican leadership, started a real estate business and served as a Trump appointee in the U.S. Department of Housing and Rural Development. At 28, he moved back to Clear Lake to enter this race. Twedt-Ball questioned the authenticity of Mitchell’s decision, recognizing that he will be backed by considerable money and power.

It concerns Twedt-Ball that last year, $1.5 trillion was added to the wealth of the top 20% of the U.S. economy. He said he is not running to climb a ladder of success and follows the biblical mandate to “feed the hungry, clothes the naked and welcome the stranger.”

To win the election, he plans to focus on the “light” and not the “dark” which is mean-spirited and creates terror and fear. He will amplify the message of affordability, and continue to do what he has always done, which is to solve problems, pull people together and connect with folks, especially those who feel abandoned. He sees a path to victory if he can reach enough voters with his message.