Iowa Green Party candidates came together at the Ames Public Library Tuesday night to talk about their key values, which Green Party gubernatorial candidate Jay Robinson said he believes are Iowa values.

Robinson and three other Iowa Green Party candidates spoke informally to a crowd of about 20, cracking jokes and fielding questions from the audience. The audience was made up of mostly older Ames residents.

The Green Party has only been an official party in Iowa since February 2001.

“We’re going to sit right up at the lunch counter of Iowa politics and claim our space,” Robinson said.

All four candidates stressed the idea that one of their main goals is to keep Iowa dollars in Iowa.

“We believe there is too much federal government,” said Tim Harthan, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate. “Cut the federal government and leave the money to local communities.”

Robinson also said changes need to be made in how the government spends money for education.

“Double-digit tuition increases are a disgrace,” Robinson said. “Let’s get serious and shift the money in the budget toward education.”

Robinson said the Green Party’s fastest growing segment of voters is 18-24 year olds.

“Hopefully, students will stay here [after they graduate],” Robinson said. “We’re working on an incentive for that.”

All four candidates said they believe politics should be taken out of the hands of corporate America and returned to the people.

This country was founded on the idea that it would be run by “we the people,” Robinson said.

“It’s turning out to be a monopoly because it’s about money,” he said.

Robinson said he has spent between $5,000 and $7,000 on his campaign.

“This will be the most cost-effective spending per vote in the state of Iowa,” he said.

The Green Party must win at least 2 percent of votes in next week’s gubernatorial election to maintain its status as an official party in Iowa.

Robinson said he doesn’t expect to win the race but intends to get the word out about the Green Party.

“We’re a party of now, and a party of the future,” Robinson said. “We get 2 percent, we win.”