A former mayor who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for president in the 2004 election will be on campus Tuesday.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, announced he is seeking the nomination Monday. He will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Kris Moorman, Ames precinct chairwoman with the Story County Democrats, who helped bring Kucinich to Ames, said Kucinich announced he will run for president Monday afternoon at an AFL-CIO meeting at Adventureland Inn in Altoona. She said his campaign speech on campus couldn’t come at a better time.

“We are exceedingly lucky to have him giving his first major speech of his declared presidency here at Iowa State,” she said.

Kucinich, of Cleveland, Ohio, began his political career at the age of 31, when he was elected mayor of Cleveland.

This made him the youngest person ever elected as a leader in a major American city.

In a statement, he said America’s relations with other countries will be a key to his campaign.

“I want to restore America’s moral standing in the world, and I believe the keystone is a commitment to seeking peaceful solutions to world problems,” he said.

Other key issues Kucinich said he will campaign for are Medicare, livable wages and a full employment economy, and the war against Iraq.

“My campaign is for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party and the great majority of Americans,” he said.

Pat Miller, director of the Lectures Program, said Kucinich will be the first speaker in the Presidential Caucus Series.

Miller said that, because of the high university population, which includes 28,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty and staff, Iowa State is a key place for presidential candidates to visit.

“We’re talking to a number of [presidential candidates] and they all want to come on campus,” Miller said.

“It’s always important for them to reach this audience.”

Moorman said Kucinich is known for his powerful speeches.

“We understand that he is an electrifying speaker and that he is fearless about speaking his mind,” she said.

“And, perhaps more than any other candidate, he speaks for the working men and women and all who believe in a better life and a safer world.”