It's not really a surprise the software forensics consultant and former computer science professor has made that one of his campaign's central issues. Martin is vying to replace Ward 3 representative Peter Orazem on the Ames City Council. Ward 3 contains most of southwest Ames, bordering Lincoln Way. To win the seat, he'd have to beat Rob Bowers, an Iowa State University Police veteran, in the Nov. 7 election.
In an interview last week, Martin said poor internet service has come up often when he's spoken with voters. He's also been keeping track of the council's ongoing discussion on rental occupancy and wants to bring some more "inclusivity" to the six-member panel.
As far as he knows, Martin would be the first openly gay man elected to the Ames City Council.
"I'm not saying that's an accomplishment, but the more ways that the council and the government can model approachability and accessibility to many types of people, I think the better off we are," he said.
Martin was born in Ames and graduated from Ames High School in the 1980s before moving to California to work at some startups before returning to Ames to attend ISU. He's also lived in Massachusetts, Maine, Germany and Colorado before he and his husband, Steve, moved to Ames in 2013.
The work with computers started much before California, though.
"He started working as a programmer when he was 13," said Dana Schumacher, a friend of Martin's who's worked with him and is helping him campaign.
He founded David Martin Consulting, where he analyzes software systems, acting as what he calls a "technology translator." He'll sometimes testify in trials involving software as an expert witness.
When he asks voters about their Internet service, which is usually provided by either Centurylink or Mediacom, Martin said they often roll their eyes as an immediate response.
"It's been pretty clear the service is unreliable a lot of times," he said.
At a City Council workshop in March, representatives from Mediacom and CenturyLink told the panel about their plans to increase fiber connections in town. The meeting was preceded by years of concern about internet speed and inconsistent service.
Martin said two options to perhaps improve the speed and service: attract a new provider to the city or inspire the companies already here to embrace new technologies to improve service.
Another option would be to something similar to what Cedar Falls has done: running its own internet and phone service through the city. Martin, who met with Cedar Falls Utilities two weeks ago, said that it runs its fiber-optic cables to each individual home and business in the city. Mediacom, on the other hand, needs transducing equipment and transformers to deliver a connection, a system that can be thrown off by one bad piece of equipment, Martin said, adding that service in Cedar Falls is more reliable. Martin said he will press the issue if elected.
"That would be a big effort, don't get me wrong, and I'm not saying we're ready to do that, but it's an option that's available under Iowa law. Some other states don't even have that option," he said.
Along with flighty internet service, Martin's ward also includes several near-campus neighborhoods, the ones who've been overrun by students renting homes, according to the residents who live there. The City Council is in the midst of reworking its rental occupancy code after a new state law was scheduled to render their current rule void on Jan. 1.
The City Council decided the first step would be to place a six-month moratorium on the approval of new rental permits in the six near-campus neighborhoods (the South Campus Area, Westside, old Edwards, Oak-Wood-Forest, College Creek/old Ames Middle School and Oak-Riverside neighborhoods) as it decides whether to institute a new rental occupancy rule.
Martin said the smaller homes in those neighborhoods have become affordable housing for students, and he'll be interesting to see what city staff will recommend to the City Council.
"I think that the moratorium was wise, and I think they're also wise to explore multiple avenues of coming up with a workable occupancy limit policy, rather than just leaving it to classifying entire properties as student properties," he said.
One of the reasons he decided to run for the council was out of a sense of gratitude, but he also thinks he can be an asset and a voice for marginalized people in Ames. He said he thinks all of the council members are approachable, but he could be another resource.
"But it could help people make a decision about who to talk to when the alternative might actually be that the end up not talking to anyone because they can't decide," Martin said. "It's like a decision paralysis. And so providing that kind of invitation and accessibility can really help.
"I have a more native interest in outreach to the gay community and to the marginalized community in town, I think, and other people on the council also have interest in that, but it's their own spin on it and this is one of the things that comes naturally to me."
Schumacher, a former member of the ISU faculty, said Martin has the ability to distill large issues and describe them in layman's terms. He's also an "amazing" listener who's devoted to his city. Plus, he's pretty bright.
"He has one of the best minds I have ever encountered, plain and simple," she said.
The Ames Tribune will publish a story about Martin's opponent in the race for the City Council's Ward 3 seat, Rob Bowers, next Sunday.
©2017 the Ames Tribune, Iowa Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
