At-large City Council candidate Nick Duffy endorses project labor agreements for big city building projects; says council majority sided with developers over the public in a home development by Ellis Golf Course

The City Council here has talked a lot about figuring out a way to hire local contractors and how to buy locally.

A tougher issue to take on for the council is the endorsement of so-called “project labor agreements,” which by and large require contractors and subcontractors of publicly funded projects to hire union workers. Unions like the agreements, contractor groups often don't. Hence, it's an issue easier not to talk about.

It's not so tough an issue, though, for at-large City Council candidate Nick Duffy, a 23-year-old middle-school teacher who lives at 122 12

^th

St. NW.

Over the weekend – the Labor Day weekend – Duffy came out in support of project labor agreements for what he called “complex public projects” in Cedar Rapids.

Duffy says PLAs help both workers and the contractors who hire them save time and money. He says he endorsing the concept of PLAs now because the city of Cedar Rapids is reviewing options to restore, rebuild or relocate buildings as it rebuilds from the June 2008 flood.

“It would be of great benefit to the taxpayer and the city to use PLAs for any public projects that require hiring workers of various skills to perform the necessary work,” Duffy says.

He also wants the city to do what it can to hire locally, too. He says he understands that the city must follow rules of competitive bidding, “there must be some solution to the problem of sending our city dollars to be spent elsewhere.”

On another front, Duffy spoke during the public comment period at last week's City Council meeting to tell the council that he was disappointed that a council majority, on a 5-4 vote the week before, had approved an 81-home development on Zika Avenue NW across from the Ellis Golf Course. Duffy noted that neighbors, flood victims and the city's City Planning Commission all opposed the development, but the council majority approved it anyway.

Duffy said the Zika Avenue development only makes “it look like” the council majority is going to help flood victims. He said a better approach would be to provide funds directly to flood victims who want to build homes on truly “infill” lots in existing neighborhoods rather than steer the funds to developers.

He called on the council majority to serve the public and not “those who can buy you.”

Duffy and Chuck Swore, who sat on the City Council in 2006 and 2007 from District 4, are the only two candidates to date who have said they will be in the hunt for an at-large council seat this Nov. 3. The deadline for candidates to file nomination petitions is Sept. 17.

Two at-large seats are up for grabs because at-large council member Brian Fagan is running for mayor and at-large council member Pat Shey is running for the District 3 seat.