How do your City Council candidates rate on eco-issues?

Give credit to the Corridor Conservation Coalition for sponsoring the first-ever environmental forum for Cedar Rapids City Council candidates. A majority of the 16 people running for the council squeezed in to two tables last night at the African American Museum of Iowa. District 1 incumbent Kris Gulick was at a funeral. No word on District 5 incumbent Justin Shields, who is running unopposed, or at-large candidate Chuck Swore.

The 65 or so audience members heard nearly two hours of one-minute responses from candidates for mayor, at-large and districts 1 and 3.

My personal highlights:

1)       At-large candidate Robert Bates admitted up front, “I'm not going to pretend to be an environmentalist” then went on to get the biggest laugh of the night. Upon hearing mayoral candidate Ron Corbett tout the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) license plates, Bates quipped,  “ I probably know the guy that made that license plate in Anamosa.”

2)      Council member Jerry McGrane, who is defending his district 3 seat, scored points with the eco-friendly crowd when he said residents should start with their own homes in taking responsibility for energy use: change to compact fluorescent light bulbs, hang clothes on the line instead of using dryers, etc., “maybe then we won't need to build more power plants.”

3)      At-large candidate Don Karr Jr., when asked about building green, said old homes should be moved, rather than torn down: “If you really want to be green, you don't put stuff in the landfill,” he said. Karr also noted that his yard is all natural “including the crabgrass.”

4)      Mayoral candidate P.T. Larson said he was the only candidate calling for bus service to connect all the cities in the Corridor. He was also the only candidate to question why the City Council determined that cameras to watch for traffic violators were more important than cameras to be used for “preventing murders and littering.”

5)      Kathy Potts, running for District 3, and Corbett both noted they would have found a way to save the large evergreen trees next to the Czech National Cemetery in southwest Cedar Rapids that are being cleared for a city-mandated sidewalk. Corbett also said he opposed developing housing in city parks, such as Hayes, and would resist selling off pocket parks in the city's neighborhoods.

6)      Nick Duffy and Aaron Saylor, both running for two at-large seats, and Ryan Russell, candidate in district 1, all appeared well-versed on the issues and called for community education and participation. Saylor, who sits on a City Hall task force on smart growth and infill development, proposed looking at using wind foils to generate electricity on downtown buildings, a concept used in other cities.

7)      District 3 candidate Calvin Busch and District 1's Tim Pugh cleared my confusion. It seemed they were calling for the city to recycle glass in its curbside pickup. Cedar Rapids homeowners can recycle glass jars, but they must be placed in a separate bin. The two told me afterward that they would want other types of glass recycled – windows, etc.

8)      At-large incumbent Pat Shey, who is running for district 3,  said the “mother of all recycling opportunities” exists in the nearly 1,300 flooded homes slated to be torn down. With demolition costs running between $17,000 and $30,000 each, Shey said he would rather see as many of those homes as possible recycled by moving them.

9)      Incumbent council member and mayoral candidate Brian Fagan garnered the second biggest laugh of the night when he revealed his agricultural credentials: “I detasseled for five years.” Fagan called the environment “one of our most critical issues as we rebuild this community.” Having spent several Saturdays salvaging homes slated for demolition on First Avenue, Fagan said he advocates saving what can safely be salvaged from flooded homes and relocating the Habitat for Humanity ReStore to move closer to revitalization areas.

The Corridor Conservation Coalition is a group of non-profit organizations with members from: Trees Forever; Indian Creek Nature Center; Linn County Conservation; Cedar-Wapsie Sierra Club; Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore; Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center; Linn County Trails; Linn County Solid Waste Management; Linn County Soil and Water Conservation; Linn County Planning and Development; Farm Bureau; Skogman Homes; Iowa Renewable Energy Association; Cedar Rapids Garden Club and Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development. Volunteer members support the coalition's work, along with the Holloway Family Environmental Trust, a partnership with Trees Forever.