Corbett gets down to business a day after the election

[caption id="attachment_55987" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="State Sen. Swati Dandekar (left) hugs Cedar Rapids Mayor-elect Ron Corbett as they watch election results during his campaign party at the IBEW Local 405 Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, southwest Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)"]

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Mayor-elect Ron Corbett set up a meeting with City Manager Jim Prosser on Wednesday, the day after his landslide victory – 62 percent to 36 percent - over City Council member Brian Fagan.

But by late afternoon Wednesday from his office at trucking firm CRST Inc., Corbett said he hadn't heard from outgoing Mayor Kay Halloran or Fagan.

“It's not like it's a presidential race where McCain calls up and talks to Obama and concedes,” the mayor-elect said about the lack of a concession call from Fagan. “Do you think there's that expectation? It's just a race for mayor.”

Instead of worrying about phone calls, he said he had asked to meet with Gov. Chet Culver next Thursday in Des Moines. Corbett, who talked about building the city's economy during his campaign, said he would request that Culver appoint someone from Cedar Rapids to fill the vacant director's post at the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

On Wednesday, Corbett did hear from at-large council member Pat Shey and District 3 council member Jerry McGrane, who face a runoff on Dec. 1 for the District 3 council seat; from Don Karr Jr. and Aaron Saylor, the two candidates competing in the runoff for an at-large council seat; and from council member Monica Vernon and at-large council member-elect Chuck Swore among others.

Corbett reported that he would stay away from last night's council meeting, thinking it best to put a little distance between Tuesday's election and the work of city government.

Election night, he said he wanted to quickly sit down with Prosser and talk about his expectations for the city manager. Wednesday, he said he hoped to meet with Mayor Halloran in short order to discuss the City Hall transition and see how that process worked in 2005 when she was elected mayor. For instance, he asked: Should the current council make decisions such as where a new library might built, or should it wait for the new council to take office? The new council will have three new members, Corbett, Swore and either Karr or Saylor when it takes office Jan. 4.

The council typically spends some time in November and December discussing the next budget, and on that score, Corbett had much to say on Wednesday.

Corbett said he wants the City Council to set aside plans to again lobby the Iowa Legislature for new powers to impose local taxes like a wheel tax, an income tax or an entertainment tax. He also wants the council not to increase the size of the new, 1-percent franchise fee on gas and electric bills.

Additionally, he wants the city's department heads to identify efficiency and productivity gains of 15 percent. He used the example of potholes, if the city can fill 100, what will it take to fill 115? he asked.

Corbett also will ask his new council colleagues to lower from $100,000 to $25,000 the amount of money that the city manager can spend without prior council approval. He also likes Gov. Chet Culver's idea to reward employees who can identify ways to save government money.

Corbett said he understands he is one of nine votes on the council. But he says he thinks his budget proposals are “logical” and he said he will try to make the case to get them implemented. He won't win on every matter, he said.

Tuesday evening, he reported that he went to bed before midnight after his election victory. He was up at 3 a.m. Wednesday, unable to get back to sleep.

“It's a great feeling,” he said Wednesday of the victory. “But it's an awesome responsibility to be a mayor of the second largest city in Iowa. We have some daunting challenges in front of us. And I'm not taking them lightly.”

Corbett said he's the second mayor in his family. His dad was mayor of Fairview, Pa., in the early 1970s before he moved the family to Newton, Iowa, where Corbett attended high school.