Weekend Hangover

The weekend that was.

Tell Us What You Really Think, Tom -- I hope you all caught Rick Smith's Saturday story about Mayor-elect Ron Corbett's chances for cementing a majority voting bloc on the City Council.

It included some striking quotes from current at-large Council member Tom Podzimek about his newly elected colleagues. I don't think he'll be bringing welcome-to-the-neighborhood brownies.

Podzimek said the current nine-member council has embraced to a person a vision for Cedar Rapids as a progressive, vibrant community that invests for future generations. And he said he's not sure how that will square with what Podzimek said was Corbett's campaign call for “cheap property taxes.”

“OK, let's lower them,” Podzimek said. “Let's get rid of the Police Department. That'll lower them. … Maybe this will just send the city into a death spiral, I don't know. It's going to be fun to see how this plays out.”

Yes, fun indeed.  

Podzimek is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I bristle at the subtext, which seems to suggest voters got hoodwinked by hollow promises of "cheap property taxes."  

And if that's the case, how does he explain Pat Shey's runoff victory in District 3 over Corbett-backer Jerry McGrane? Council incumbent Kris Gulick also easily won re-election against two rivals who publicly backed the mayor-elect.

The mayor's race was a healthy, substantative contast between candidates with clear differences. Taxes were an issue, to be sure, but the debate over the pace of city deliberation vs. action loomed larger. Voters rendered a pretty clear verdict.

Now, we'll all find out whether Corbett and his backers can live up to promises for faster action on several fronts.

And if I were on the ballot in 2012, when Podzimek's seat is up, I'd try to avoid that death spiral thing.

O Christmas Tree -- Hoffman Tree Farm has one less tree thanks to my children's continuing love for cutting down a real live holiday spruce.

The perfect candidate, standing at roughly 7 feet,  was found after a 20-minute search. Pre-hunt doughnuts provided a much-needed boost of sugar-fueled enthusiasm.

Decorating was a two-day affair, completed when Ella was lifted skyward Sunday night to place the star on top. Several ornaments were harmed in the decorating of the tree, but there was plenty of super glue.

NRA Calling -- I was push-polled by the National Rifle Association Saturday morning. The NRA called all the way from Virginia wanting to know my opinion on an outrageous attempt by the United Nations to take guns away from Americans. Flattered though I was, I declined.

And anyway, I could barely hear the call with all the black helicopters hovering overhead. Sheesh.

Parading through the Streets -- I marched  in Cedar Rapids' downtown holiday parade Saturday night alongside the KCRG/Gazette float.

Maybe you saw me. I was that guy in the parade wearing a Santa hat.

I considered riding on the float.  But when I saw all the on-air TV talent assembled for smiling and waving, I decided a print grunt like me should grab a bucket of candy and hit the street. 

If I caught you along the route,  I hope you enjoyed the Tootsie rolls, Laffy Taffy and temporary tattoos. If not, maybe next year.

Have a fine week.