He is seeking the Ward 3 seat that Councilman Dave Flattery will be vacating as he runs for mayor.

“It’s kind of been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and this just seems like the right time,” he said Tuesday.

He said he chose to run for the ward seat instead of an at-large seat because he wants to “represent my neighborhood and all the people around me.”

“I’m proud of all my neighbors and I think I can represent them well,” he said.

Ward 3 is the northeast side of the city.

He said government accountability and downtown will be his priorities if he is elected.

“We need accountability in city government,” McCubbin said.

He said he believes at least some of the city’s elected officials have become too reliant on the city’s staff when they should be providing oversight and direction to the staff.

“I think our next focus needs to be bringing downtown back to where it needs to be,” he added. “If we don’t do something soon to bring downtown back to what it needs to be, it will be too late to do it. I think we need to go after sales tax, TIF, and grants for downtown.”

McCubbin describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” with multiple business interests. His roles with Kesterson Realty and Shiny Top Brewing may be his best known business ventures.

The candidate is a native of Fort Dodge who graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School.

He served in the Army for five and a half years as a military police officer.

He earned an associate degree from Iowa Central Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake and a master’s degree from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The candidate is a member of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance Board and is the chairman of its Legislative Committee. He is also a member of Blanden Memorial Art Museum board, and the UnityPoint Health Foundation board. He is a member of the Webster County Examining Board, a panel that meets only when it is necessary to recruit and hire a new county assessor. He is a member of the Fort Dodge Noon Rotary Club.

He and his wife, Joyce, have four children and four grandchildren. He lives at 2998 15th Ave. N.E.

McCubbin is the only person to declare a candidacy for City Council so far. Flattery is the only person in the mayor’s race at this point.