Cedar Rapids businessman Patel joins Democratic race in Iowa 1st District

CEDAR RAPIDS - Ravi Patel, a Cedar Rapids business owner and entrepreneur, has joined the race for the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 1st District.

Calling himself a 'pro-growth progressive,” Patel said Monday his campaign for the seat now held by freshman GOP U.S. Rep. Rod Blum will be about broadening economic opportunity for Iowa families.

'I am not a politician,” Patel said in his announcement. 'I have a track record of growing businesses that give back to their communities and provide good-paying jobs that Iowans need.

'Problems that challenge all of us require solutions that include all of us,” he continued. 'We need a fresh perspective, we need new leadership, and we need innovative thinkers who are genuinely interested in seeing our country succeed.”

Patel, 29, an Arkansas native who grew up in Burlington and Iowa City, is president of Hawkeye Hotels. He is also the co-founder and managing partner of Built By Iowa, a business accelerator that supports Iowa-based start-ups. Patel serves on the Kirkwood College Hospitality Advisory Board, the University of Iowa College of Business Alumni Board, and the State of Iowa Hospitality and Tourism Committee.

He has a business management degree and certificate of entrepreneurship from the University of Iowa.

Patel said his campaign will focus on pay equity, investing in a robust education system, and working toward meaningful immigration reform.

'Right now, America is experiencing the dawn of the New Economy,” he said. 'For us to continue our success, we need a compassionate agenda for Iowa's working families.”

The Republican Party of Iowa was quick to criticize Patel for kicking off his campaign with 'bland and tired sloganeering relying on the pretense that he offers a ‘fresh perspective.'”

'There's nothing fresh about President Obama's six-year-old policies or Nancy Pelosi's failed leadership,” RPI spokesman Charlie Szold said.

Patel's announcement comes a month after Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman Monica Vernon announced she will make a second bid for the 1st District Democratic nomination. An eight-year member of the City Council and former business owner, Vernon, who describes herself as a 'working mom who understands that the deck is stacked against the middle class,” said she's proud of her work 'growing a small business, helping local communities recover from a devastating flood and working to create jobs, increase access to affordable housing and improve education for students in our district.”

Vernon spokeswoman Sarah Van Deest welcomed Patel to the race and said the campaign looks forward to a 'spirited primary.”

Vernon, 57, finished second in the five-way primary in 2014. She then joined Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Jack Hatch in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Gov. Terry Branstad.

Among others seen as potential candidates in the district are former state legislator and state utilities Commissioner Swati Dandekar of Marion, and Gary Kroeger, a former member of the Saturday Night Live troupe who returned to Cedar Falls where he now works in advertising.

The district appears to be fertile ground for a Democratic challenger to Blum, who defeated longtime Dubuque legislator Pat Murphy by more than 6,600 votes. Iowa's 1st skews Democratic. According to the Iowa Secretary of State, there are 22,000 more Democrats than Republicans among the district's 488,304 active registered voters.

For more on Patel, visit http://patelforiowa.com.