Council candidate Kuzela has seen ‘many problems’ at City Hall

CEDAR RAPIDS - City Council critic Lisa Kuzela is running for the west-side District 4 council seat, saying she has seen 'many problems” in city government in recent years.

'I want the opportunity to initiate some of the solutions,” said Kuzela, 52, of 341 Carter St. NW.

Kuzela is challenging one-term incumbent Scott Olson, a commercial Realtor and chairman of the council's Infrastructure Committee. She said the council district 'is not being represented as we deserve to be.”

The city is in the second year of a 10-year, $180 million street improvement program called Paving for Progress, which is being paid for by the voter-approved local-option sales tax.

Kuzela said the streets in council District 4 are 'atrocious,” and she said she has been working tirelessly as a citizen to get them fixed. She said Olson 'has neglected the issue.”

'It's time to get the worst of the worst done first, and most of the worst are in our district,” she said.

Kuzela said the city has emphasized development and left other important issues, such as addressing crime, 'on the sidelines.”

She said she supports development, but she said 'the wealthy should pay their own way.”

'I've proven to have the dedication toward helping the average person - not the establishment or special interest - and that's who we need in leadership,” she said.

'It's time for the good ol' boys club to close. I do not have any conflicts of interest and do not foresee any.”

Kuzela, whose house was damaged in the 2008 flood, frequently has questioned how the city has spent flood-recovery money and she has disagreed with the city as it has sought to secure state, federal and local funds for flood control and local money to fix streets.

Even so, she said she's never opposed flood protection or fixing streets, but she said, 'I worked against handing another blank check to our leaders.”

Kuzela successfully advocated for the city to use revenue from the local-option sales tax for flood recovery to provide flood victims with money to replace personal possessions lost in the flood.

Kuzela works at Abbe Health as a transitional living specialist. She said she has worked as a high school and college math teacher and a behavioral therapist for autistic children. She has a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University.

Earlier this year, Kuzela led an effort to appeal the city's budget to a state panel made up of the state treasurer, state auditor and head of the state Department of Management.

The state panel concluded that the city budget was appropriate.

Kuzela is under a court order not to communicate with Assistant City Manager Sandi Fowler and to stay away from her through Nov. 20, 2017. The order stems from an incident in June 2012 when Kuzela was accused of assaulting Fowler in the lobby of City Hall. Kuzela pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in December 2012.