Government
17 hopefuls file for 6 C.R. Council seats
Posted on Sep 17, 2009 by Rick Smith.
Seventeen candidates made Thursday’s deadline to file nomination papers and will run for one of the six City Council seats on the Nov. 3 election ballot.
What is known already is this:
The city will have a new mayor. Mayor Kay Halloran, 72, is not seeking re-election.
Kathy Potts, a candidate in a five-candidate field in council District 3 that includes two current council members, is the only woman among the 17 candidates.
West-side District 5 council member Justin Shields will return to the council. No one has chosen to run against him.
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Shields, 67, 3201 Pebble Dr. SW, said last night. Asked why no one is challenging him, he said, “I’d like to think it’s because I’ve worked extremely hard. I put my heart and soul into what I was doing and I never quit.”
The mayor’s race has two formidable candidates, at-large council member Brian Fagan, 37, 398 26th St. SE, an attorney at Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman and the council’s mayor pro tem; and Ron Corbett, 48, 321 30th St. SE, vice president of trucking firm CRST Inc. and a former state legislator and former president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. Perennial City Hall candidate P.T. Larson, 52, 225 29th St. Dr. SE, also is in the mayor’s race.
In east-side District 1, incumbent Kris Gulick, 50, 2103 Linmar Dr. NE, a certified public accountant and business consultant, is being challenged by Ryan Russell, 28, 1322 O Ave. NE, a logistics specialist, and Tim Pugh, 32, 518 17th St. NE, a small-business owner.
In District 3, with precincts on both sides of the Cedar River, incumbent Jerry McGrane, 69, 1105 Eighth St. SE, a neighborhood leader, is being challenged by at-large council member Pat Shey, 50, 501 Knollwood Dr. SE, an attorney and business owner; Potts, 50, 1118 First St. SW, a homemaker, community activist and former state legislative candidate; Calvin Busch, 52, 1334 C St. SW, a carpenter and contractor; and Clark Rieke, 62, 2904 Soutter Ave. SE, a local Realtor.
Five candidates are competing for two at-large seats, which are currently held by Fagan and Shey.
They are Chuck Swore, 66, 2609 Iris Ave. NW, a former west-side District 4 council member, a retired Acme Electric vice president/general manager and now a business consultant and flood-recovery case manager; Nick Duffy, 23, 122 12th St. NW, a Regis Middle School teacher; Aaron Saylor, 28, 2142 Richard Dr. NE, a local Realtor; Donald Karr Jr., 64, 1627 Hamer Dr. NW, owner of Affordable Plumbing & Remodeling and a founder of Cedar Rapids Small Business Recovery; and Robert Bates, 43, 419 Seventh Ave. SW, who works in the carnival industry.
Council members Tom Podzimek, Monica Vernon and Chuck Wieneke are not up for re-election.
Too bad we are stuck with Shields. Was hoping for an ALL NEW city council.
It would be a good time for a write in candidate to win for sure.
Justin Shields is the only council member who tried. He deserves re-election. He loves his city and the people that live here. Pay attention to what he has done and what he plans to do, I think you would be suprised and change your mind!
is that the same Tim Pugh from the cedar rapids tea party, the same guy who told us that the city council is wasting money and that they were lying about what they will do with the local option sales tax ? sign me up to help out out Tim…. its about time someone put their money where their mouth is !
What fun when P.T. runs. He almost singlehandly gave the US Census a bad name in 1990 when he tried as a census employee to have some arrested for pot. And of course there was the time, oh well, you get the idea, looking forward to future P.T. boneheadisms.
I'm new to the area and to CR politics, but I like this P.T. (or whatever he decides to call himself)Larson character already! Good times, good times
LOL!
Often when candidates run for office they like to pad their resume, but one on this list stands out for his honesty; Robert Bates, who works in the carnival industry.
Having seen a couple of his 5 minute speeches I would pay real money to have him spend just six months sitting at the table with our three holdover Council members (Wieneke, Podzimek, and Ms. Vernon) Who says there is no entertainment in Cedar Rapids!
I can't believe no one is opposing stumblebum Shields in the SW side! I am in district 3 on the SW side, just on its border, and am hoping for some publicized info or any kind of activity out of the newcomers in my district as I can't stomach the thought of Shey or McGrane keeping any kind of decision-making position for our city.
seems like a lot of consultants sit on the council, wonder if thats why they hire so many
After finding out how the current council has totally spent way too much money in hopes of getting Veterans Memorial torn down in the end. I will not vote any of the current council members back in. Quit dragging you feet and spending our tax dollars in the stupidest ways possible, save our iconic buildings and my vote for one will be yours. (If you even care!)
PT's Heavy Heart is always in the left place