Cedar Rapids mayoral field narrows

While the upcoming mayoral race in Cedar Rapids continues to take shape, one prominent potential candidate has decided not to run.

Monica Vernon, who currently represents the city’s second district, announced Tuesday that she would not seek office as mayor, citing a need to concentrate on her business, Vernon Research Group, as well as her existing duties on the city council.

“It’s true that a lot of people have asked me to consider running for mayor and that I’ve spent some time exploring that possibility,” Vernon said. “However, I have concluded that I don’t have the time to run my business and provide a high level of service as a council member and run for office.”

Many believed that news of Vernon’s political switch last month from Republican to Democrat was indicative of her intent to push the nonpartisan mayoral race into a partisan showdown.

“Those who know me,” she said, “understand that decision was a long time coming.”

The list of confirmed mayor candidates in Cedar Rapids currently contains only one name: Ron Corbett, a former speaker of the Iowa House. Rumored candidates include Mayor Pro Tem Brian Fagan, commercial Realtor Scott Olson, who unsuccessfully ran for the position in 2005, and Gary Hinzman, long-time director of the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services and former Cedar Rapids chief of police. Kay Halloran, the city’s current mayor, has not yet publicly announced if she will seek reelection, but some close to her have indicated that she will not.

The largest over-riding issue in the Cedar Rapids mayor’s race is economic/flood recovery. While several regions in the state sustained significant damage as a result of 2008 flooding, Cedar Rapids holds claim to roughly $6 million in damages, or more than half of damage estimates for the entire state. Although flood victims are willing to credit local officials with their immediate response to the floods, many also describe follow-up recovery efforts, such as the equitable distribution of federal and state funds, as frustratingly inadequate.

And while local citizens have been praised nationally for their ability to pull together and ride out the perfect storm of economic decline and flood waters, a definite undercurrent of impatience by those residents who were not victims of the flood is becoming more evident as they look to sidelined city projects and increased taxes earmarked solely for flood recovery.

At this time the obvious frontrunner for the nonpartisan ballot is Corbett, vice president of CRST Inc., a trucking firm run by a highly influential businessman named John Smith. Corbett, a former chief executive of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, not only entered the race early, but immediately launched campaign tactics that blurred the line of the partisan mindset that paved the way for his successful tenure in Des Moines.

Corbett, a 48-year-old Republican, has gathered an impressive assortment of campaign endorsers and donors from both sides of the political aisle. At last estimate, his war chest was closing in on the total amounts the 2005 candidates spent on their campaigns. Although it is rare to find Republican campaign literature printed in a union shop, Corbett’s literature not only is, but boastfully displays the union symbol. And, as far as hand-shaking and people-meeting goes, residents are just as likely to encounter Corbett at the union hall as they are at a business meeting.

Such olympian campaigning and fundraising for a high profile but undeniably local office has raised a few eyebrows. There has been speculation that Corbett’s eyes are not set on city hall inasmuch as they are focused on Terrace Hill and next year’s gubernatorial race. There is also concern regarding Corbett’s direct ties to larger business interests within the community. At a time when residential flood victims are already feeling neglected and isolated, few want to support someone who might see the post as a stepping stone to a larger position or someone perceived to be more influenced by commercial interests.

In contrast Hinzman, a 61-year-old Republican and the only other perceived candidate to make any public movements, has had a very relaxed campaign style. Although he has a campaign Web site and obviously considers himself a candidate for the position, he’s yet to make an official announcement. While Corbett’s site is populated with news reports, volunteer registration and donation opportunities, Hinzman’s site contains little more than a list of the reasons why he is running and his qualifications for serving as mayor.

The other two candidates, while obviously making political moves behind the scenes, have been far less public about their intent. They have mostly made appreciative mumblings whenever their names are mentioned in connection with the upcoming ballot, and otherwise have declined comment.