REPLAY LIVE COVERAGE: At-large Cedar Rapids City Council forum

Posted on Oct 19, 2009 by Admin.

Five men competing for two at-large seats on the City Council made their case for election in front of 100 or so residents last night at a candidate forum sponsored by The Gazette at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

Council members now holding the two seats are giving them up to compete in other races: Brian Fagan for mayor and Pat Shey for the District 3 council seat.

Three of the five candidates, former District 4 council member Chuck Swore, Don Karr Jr., now retired from his Affordable Plumbing and Remodeling business, and Nick Duffy, a Regis Middle School language arts teacher, agreed that the city should get about renovating the flood-damaged Veterans Memorial Building on May’s Island and move city government back into it. City services also can use the federal courthouse building, which the city is slated to take ownership of, the three said.

Swore, 66, 2609 Iris Ave. NW, said nothing above the first floor of the seven-story building was touched by water, and he said the building worked fine for city government before the flood. Karr, 64, 1627 Hamer Dr. NW, said he was not about to support the building of “Taj Mahals” for the city manager and City Council. Duffy, 23, 122 12th St. NW, noted that the Linn County Courthouse on May’s Island sits lower in relation to the river than the Veterans Memorial Building, and the courthouse is up and running. He said it was important for a “vibrant downtown” to get city services back there.

Aaron Saylor, 28, 2142 Richard Dr. NE, said the Veterans Memorial Building needs to be rebuilt, but as for moving city government back into it, he said, “There are a lot of interesting ideas” about where city government might end up. More important right now was to move ahead on needs that more directly affect residents, like replacing the flood-damaged Central Fire Station and rebuilding infrastructure, said Saylor, a Realtor.

Robert Bates, 43, 419 Seventh Ave. SW, talked about the possibility of consolidating city services in a place like Westdale Mall while renovating the Veterans Memorial Building for the veterans.

Swore, Karr and Duffy said mayoral candidate Brian Fagan was a great guy but that they were supporting mayoral candidate Ron Corbett for the job. Saylor said he knew both Fagan and Corbett and could work with either. Bates, a small-business owner, said he hadn’t made up his mind on the two. He said he couldn’t support the third mayoral candidate, P.T. Larson, because he wouldn’t make a good impression with visiting dignitaries.

Asked about the health of the city:

Karr said the city long had been a leader in Eastern Iowa, but, for now, had lost that. A strong City Council, he said, can get it back.

Duffy said the city was “doing all right” but it needed to attract more jobs and the city government needed to manage money wisely.

Saylor was the most upbeat about the city, saying it was a great place with great people. The city needs to rebuild together and it needs to be pay attention to the budget or as he put it, “be smart about the numbers.”

Swore called the city’s health “poor” and he called economic development “a must.”

Bates said Cedar Rapids “isn’t a great city” and he said crime is more serious here than the city says it is. Karr said he “didn’t want to listen” to Bates’ assessment of the city’s greatness, saying the city had a strong foundation and just needed a little help.

Saylor said he has been an active volunteer in the community. Duffy said he spent two months with at-risk youth cleaning out flood-damaged houses last summer. Bates said he donates Harlem Globetrotter tickets and other gifts to youth who are in residential facilities at Christmas. Karr said he helped found the Small Business Recovery Group after the flood that he said has gotten 78 percent of small businesses back up and running. Swore, retired vice president and general manager at Acme Electric, said he has sat on the boards of many non-profit organizations over 35 years and worked as a case manager after the flood to help small businesses.

Swore, Karr and Duffy suggested that power alignment between council and city manager needs to swing back in favor of the council. Duffy said he liked the idea of council committees, where council members study issues with the help of city staff, and then council members present the issues and findings to the council.