Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ross Lightfoot can be called many things: orphan, congressman, hometown hero and politician.

But he hopes no one ever says he doesn’t care about Iowa or Iowans.

In a meeting with the Iowa State Daily staff Friday afternoon, the former congressman said it is vital the state finds a way to keep current and future graduates of Iowa colleges in the state.

Lightfoot, who entered the gubernatorial race in July after an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, met with the Daily staff to show students his political stance.

“I think it is important people know where we are and where we stand,” he said.

When asked what he thought was the most important issue in the election, Lightfoot said all campaigns, no matter where they start, always come back around to and end with the issue of education.

He said perhaps the most important problem facing Iowa is the retention of graduates from Iowa colleges.

Being a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in journalism, Lightfoot said he knows the importance of finding a job after graduation.

However, he said Iowa is not making itself attractive enough to college graduates.

“My goal is to keep you all here,” he said.

Lightfoot said the large number of students pursuing internships, employment and career opportunities outside of the state is causing Iowa to become less competitive on both the regional and national scales.

He said the state loses graduates to surrounding states like Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri, because of Iowa’s lack of available housing and daycare, as well as having higher property and income taxes than some of its neighbors.

“Companies aren’t offering daycare because of the liability factor — they just don’t want to be held responsible if something happens,” Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot said if Iowa can offer those opportunities and options which make other states more appealing to college graduates, the state can begin to compete in the upper half of the spectrum as opposed to the bottom.

He said there is no reason why so many companies which have their roots in Iowa should set up shop in other states.

“I don’t believe there should be an ear of corn, soybean, hog or pig walk out of this state,” he said. “There is no reason why a company like Gateway 2000 should be operating in South Dakota instead of Iowa where it began,” he said.

Lightfoot, who spent 12 years in the House of Representatives before his run at the Senate, said his decision to run for Iowa governor is based on his loyalty to the state that “has been good to me.”

When asked about the governor’s race and politics in general, Lightfoot said politics is full of too many people who are more interested in hearing themselves speak than listening to others.

“I want to have a positive effect on the future of the state,” he said.

The future of the state, as Lightfoot puts it, lies in providing the job opportunities the young people are looking for.

To do this, Lightfoot said the state has to not only create a climate of competition comparable to other states, but also find a way to bring the costs of education down so more students will come to Iowa to earn their education.

“If we are going to improve the state as a whole, we need to find imaginative ways to finance school for students,” he said.