Elections
Corbett will be Cedar Rapids mayor
Posted on Nov 04, 2009 by Rick Smith.
Ron Corbett
Ron Corbett has defeated City Council incumbent Brian Fagan to become the city’s next mayor, according to tallies coming in to the Linn County election office.
Corbett won 14,642 votes, or 62.3 percent of the 23,488 votes cast.
Fagan won 8,385 votes, for 35.7 percent of the total.
A third candidate, P.T. Larson, won 421 votes, for 1.8 percent.
The turnout was 27 percent, with 23,510 voting. Some 87,189 voters are registered in Cedar Rapids.
Campaigning since March, Corbett, 49, vice president at trucking firm CRST Inc., talked repeatedly about what he has called the current City Council’s “culture of delay,” and he said he would replace delay with a “culture of action.”
Fagan — at 37, the only one of nine current council members under age 50 — made the case that he and his council colleagues had worked hard and effectively and had built a solid foundation to make sure the city recovers and rebuilds from the June 2008 flood. Fagan, an attorney at Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, entered the race in late July.
Corbett raised some $101,000 for his campaign, almost three times as much as Fagan.
Corbett said he needed to raise more money to get his message out against a City Hall incumbent.
During the campaign, Corbett also secured endorsements from both business and labor.
The mayoral victory keeps Corbett’s record intact. He has never lost an election for public office. He won seven elections between 1986 and 1998 to the Iowa House of Representatives, a run that included victories over Paul Pate and Kay Halloran, the immediate past Cedar Rapids mayor and the current mayor.
Corbett left the legislature – he was House speaker the last five years — in 1999 to take the job of president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. In his six years at the Chamber, he was a high-profile community figure, pushing a school-bond vote, the merging of city and county governments — without luck — and the pursuit of state Vision Iowa funds. He led the citizen petition drive in 2004 that resulted in voters changing the city’s form of government in 2005 from a full-time council to a part-time one with a professional city manager.
After the June 2005 referendum to change the government, Corbett left the Chamber and the headlines for a management job at trucking firm CRST Inc. He resurfaced on the public stage in March to run for mayor.
Corbett has said he will be visible mayor. He has said the current council has given the city manager too much power, and he said he will work to shift the balance back to the council.
Tom52403
04. Nov, 2009
Congratulations Mr. Corbett. Your landslide victory shows citizens are tired of the endless delay and indecision of the current council. And I hope Jim Prosser is ready to change course with you or ship out of town.
96Bravo
04. Nov, 2009
I agree with Tom! Nice job opening that can of whoop a$$ Mr. C! WQell done!
WWJD1
04. Nov, 2009
Jim Prosser did the best job that could be done considering all the variables in the equation!!!
OwenHarper
04. Nov, 2009
I don't think so.
gardbr
04. Nov, 2009
WRONG! BIG ERROR IN YOUR STATEMENT
knarfgnik
04. Nov, 2009
I have to say that Mr. Prosser was dealt a near impossible hand. He was to manage a city that found itself in crisis and he had 9 council members who were lost and couldn't seem to make any decisions. I stood in front of the city council over 1 year ago and begged them to take baby steps because it was better than taking no steps. They ignored my recommendation and decided it was better to make no decisions than to take a chance on a wrong one. I am optimistic that with strong leadership decisions will be made that will help correct the problems associated with having failed to act in a timely fashion. Frank King aka knarfgnik
MJJ23
04. Nov, 2009
I dont know if I agree with this decision. My husband used to work at CRST, and does not have the highest opinion of Corbett
IowaGuy123
04. Nov, 2009
Well then, maybe everyone should just re-vote.
basketcase
04. Nov, 2009
Are you saying you voted for Fagan?
a-noyd
04. Nov, 2009
Not many people love their bosses.
maxineiship
04. Nov, 2009
If upper managment in any business is totally loved, then they are not doing their job.
You cannont keep 100% of the people happy no matter what you do.
Hazin
04. Nov, 2009
cedar rapids doesn't exist without house boats, get us the harbor back :p
guardian44
04. Nov, 2009
Congratulations Mr. Corbett. You have a big job ahead of you. It is always hard to come in at the
end of the parade and have to clean up after the horses. Get Swore and Karr (I had my heart set
on that Duffy fellow but I'll survive) to help and you should be able to bring a few of the others back to
reality. Maybe they will really follow the charter and run this as it was intended. A lot of people did not vote so thanks to all who did think this election was worththeir time and ballot. Good luck. And to
Mr. Fagan your work and time was appreciated.
basketcase
04. Nov, 2009
I would hope we could find a way to use Brian Fagan's knowledge and expertise. He was not the leader that we need but he certainly has some very good legal skills and a long history of working his way through government red tape in relation to federal grants. I am certain Ron Corbett would be open to working with Brian and maybe we could use Brian as a consultant.
23streets
04. Nov, 2009
Mayor Corbett should have a trasnsition plan in place shortly. I hope Posser and Mayor Corbett find a common ground and agree what power each have. We will see in a few months how Corbett plans on Governing. How Corbett will speed up the flood victims recovery . The problems are large and the decisions have long term effects on Neightborhoods, and Downtown. Best of Luck to Mayor Corbett and Congratulations………!!!!!! Now do what you said you would do.
basketcase
04. Nov, 2009
This comes across as more of an attack than a congratulations. Which way did you mean it?
23streets
04. Nov, 2009
Your posting seem to indicate you are a basketcase. Read only the black and white. Get real. You did not read Best of Luck to Mayor Corbett Congratulations…… My Lord you are thinking straight… Good Luck to YOU too basketcase..
basketcase
04. Nov, 2009
Read your own words " My Lord you are thinking straight " Your thoughts are not understandable. This statement appears to mean I am the straight thinking one. I'm sure that's not what you meant to say.
Inquisitive10
04. Nov, 2009
Huge step backwards for CR. Best of luck Corbett working with the people/format of Govt. you trashed. Hope all that PAC money goes directly to flood victims but it will probably end up in the Corbett Corp. war chest like the rest of the out of state money. Cedar Rapids is subdued tonight.
Surfing22
04. Nov, 2009
He is only ONE vote
jamesman
06. Nov, 2009
He is the mayor, the mayor is much more than 1 vote in this form of government. The one vote is protectionism for the past failures, to bad some survived the election
CRFloodSurvivor
04. Nov, 2009
Congratulations Mr. Corbett. Hopefully you can get some cooperation from the rest of the Council.
knarfgnik
04. Nov, 2009
With all due respect to Mr. Fagan and I do respect him I would suggest the rest of the present city council should look at the percentages and realize the voters have said they are sick and tired of business being handled the way it was. They spoke loud and clear that the consultants should not have got in the way of helping the people. The rest need to listen to the voters. The current city council has ignored the pleas of the people and listened only to their high powered friends and consultants. I ask them now to PLEASE listen to what the people who voted you in have said. We did not vote you in because we thought you were smarter than us We voted you in because we thought you would follow our directions and not the direction of a powerful few in Cedar Rapids. So far you have let us down and this is a wake up call for those who want to continue in elected office.
Cornell alumnus elected mayor of Cedar Rapids | Cornell College
04. Nov, 2009
[...] Gazette election coverage [...]
maxineiship
04. Nov, 2009
Congratulations Mr Corbett, hopefully you can get cooperation from the City Council, and get this city back on track, and take care of its people, that so desperately need help.
gardbr
04. Nov, 2009
Cooperation from the City Council? i don't think that will be the issue because the Mayor elect will be on the aggressive, progressive agenda to accomplish something, and those that are reticent to continue or complete things will look as if they have continued in their past traditions. the cooperation will have to come from City Manager and Staff, or else
knarfgnik
04. Nov, 2009
I would like to say that the rest of the city council should look at this as a wake up call. I personally think Brian Fagan is a great guy but he was part of the group that decided it was better to leave the decision making up to either consultants or high powered people on the RRCT. We elected people to follow our directions. We did not elect them to turn over those responsibilities to others. The voters have sent a crystal clear message to all elected officials. Pay attention to the people and get rid of the consultants and the high powered lobbiest who presently do all the advising the city council listens to. Quit ignoring the people or face a similar fate in 2 years. Frank King
TryAgain
05. Nov, 2009
Mayor Corporate Corbett. Any Bets on how long it will take before CR is a ghost town like Waterloo?
jamesman
06. Nov, 2009
well we survived the past 4 years, of incompetence, stupidity, lack of leadership, and economic destruction. I am sure Corbett will turn their failures around
LiferinCR
06. Nov, 2009
Goodbye and good riddens Mr Prosser
23streets
04. Nov, 2009
Oh Now I hope you are not saying only 60% of CR should count on there gov. for help, and a leader for all the citizens. Don't start dividing the citizens. First off the correct comment would be 60% of the 23,000 that voted. I was one of the one who voted and wanted Fagan. I amy happy for Corbett and in my book he should be a good leader for 100% of the city. In one years the City should have addressed all the flood victims in a timely manner. Stop the business of delay starting today!!!!
basketcase
04. Nov, 2009
First – The 60 % reference had nothing to do with government support – it was in relation to the voters who choose Corbett, and the pat on the back is to recognize they got their way. You have somehow turned an innocent statement into an attack. Not everything is an attack on you.
Second – You supported Fagan. Fagan has had 18 months to address the flood victims in a timely manner. Now you want Corbett to stop the delay. I'm a little confused. You seem to be attacking the politician you supported.
23streets
04. Nov, 2009
Re read what you posted, you were not being inocent you posted 60% of CR deserve a big pat on the back. Wrong! All who voted deserve a pat on the back. 60% of 23,000 is not a mandate! I think you stripping Fagan of all that he did do is trying to slap Fagan alone. You have minimized what has been done. $75 million more recovered because the scope of lose was not signed off on. Corbett has $75 million more to work with. Lets see Corbett do that in 1or 2 years! Not every clarification is a attack , don.t be so touchy and exclusive. Kudos to all that voted even you basketcase. Have a great day
basketcase
05. Nov, 2009
You are reading your own message into my words. What I posted was no more or no less than what I meant. First you read a message about division of the citizens. The only division intimated was the voting split, not the entitlement split as you seemeed to believe. Even after I explained there was no hidden meaning you are still finding assasins in the shadows. You need to check my postings before you make accusations about stripping Fagan of all he did.