Fred Hubbell: ‘live More Purposefully’ Democrat Says He’s No Politician, But Learned Leadership

Fred Hubbell is working to make the most of his “second chance.” The survivor of a harrowing hostage ordeal that confronted him and his wife, Charlotte, half way around the world in 1981, Hubbell has spent the ensuing years working, volunteering and contributing in ways that have served Iowa. Now, at 67, the Des Moines business executive born into one of Iowa’s richest and most-influential families has set his sights on becoming the next occupant of the governor’s Terrace Hill mansion — an iconic residence the Hubbell family had donated to the state in 1971. More at home in business settings than campaign venues, Hubbell is trying to step out from the shadows of being a backer of other candidates and taking on the unfamiliar role of being a self-promoter. “I’m not a politician.