Corbett’s emphasis on vital issues is welcome

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is now officially a Republican candidate for governor. Any clear-eyed political assessment would show his road is steeply uphill, but we think he deserves much credit for working to make the GOP race less a coronation and more a conversation on critical Iowa issues.

And the issues Corbett focused on in his announcement speech Tuesday are, in our view, among the most vital.

Corbett pointed to the state's current budget woes, spawning uncertainty and confusion for Iowans sending their kids to universities, operating businesses and depending on services. He highlighted the need to address the complexities and inequities of Iowa's tax structure. Corbett called for a renewed emphasis on investments in public education.

The mayor envisioned a state government that shows more concern for Iowans in need of mental health services, who face the loss of health insurance and who would benefit from at least a modest increase in the state minimum wage.

Corbett also declared Iowa's water quality problem a 'crisis” and called for raising the state sales tax to fill the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund created by voters in 2010. Since the constitutionally protected fund was approved, Statehouse leaders have refused to provide dollars.

'In 2010 you led the way, 60 percent of the voters of this state led the way and said we want to take care of our water and our soil for future generations. And they've been ignoring the will of the people,” said Corbett, describing a Native American principle of considering how decisions now will affect 'seven generations.”

'Do we operate under the seven-generation principle? Do we operate under the century-farm principle? No. We operate under the next-election principle,” Corbett said, referring to a lack of action to curtail pollution.

Win or lose, Corbett's candidacy promises provide another opportunity to highlight Cedar Rapids' recovery from the Flood of 2008, preparations that averted heavy flood damage in 2016 and other local success stories.

His primary opponent, Gov. Kim Reynolds, is the overwhelming favorite, with the backing of former Gov. Terry Branstad, who picked her as his heir. But Corbett's campaign poses an important question to Republicans. Do they stick with Reynolds and her strong ties to the Branstad era, which dominated Iowa politics for much of the last 30 years, or is it time to chart a new path? The road to discovering the answer begins now.

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