Cedar Rapids at-large candidates alike, yet different

CEDAR RAPIDS - A longtime small-business owner and 28-year-old investment Realtor are facing off Tuesday in a runoff election for an at-large seat on the City Council.

Don Karr Jr., 64, polled an even 7,000 votes to Aaron Saylor's 6,669 votes in the Nov. 3 general election, but neither got a required percentage of the vote in the five-candidate race for two at-large seats. Chuck Swore won one of the two at-large seats with 11,504 votes.

In making his case for election, Karr says his many years as an owner of Affordable Plumbing and Remodeling and his work with the Small Business Recovery Group in the aftermath of the June 2008 flood have equipped him with the experience and common sense that can help on the City Council.

Saylor says he is running for the council to help make Cedar Rapids better and to provide a new perspective to a council that he says risks having too little diversity of representation and thought. He says his professional life as a Realtor gives him insight into issues related to development.

There aren't great differences between the two candidates on some basic issues: Both want the city to move ahead on flood recovery, to improve the condition of the city's streets and to focus on job growth. But the two are different.

A Cedar Rapids native, Karr and wife, Patricia, have four adult children. Karr is proud of the success of the Small Business Recovery Group, which he helped create after the June 2008 flood. Some 80 percent of the small businesses hit by the flood - including his own - have now reopened, he says.

“I think I have a lot of life experiences and talents as well as the decision-making that comes with running a business, making payroll and being responsible to your employees and to yourself,” says Karr, of 1627 Hamer Dr. NW.

Getting flood recovery taken care of, he says, is important for the community's attitude about itself.

“If we start making decisions about this flood recovery, it creates a positive momentum instead of just remaining in a dull spot,” he says.

Karr wants to make it clear about any proposal to build a new city hall: He's against it.

Karr says returning City Hall to the Veterans Memorial Building doesn't require taking private land off the tax rolls to build what he says would be a costly new city hall. As importantly, he says the location of the Veterans Memorial Building on May's Island creates a “symbolic” unifying message for a city that has been known to have divisions between the east and west sides of the Cedar River.

Saylor says in order to make Cedar Rapids better the city needs to make long-term decisions and consider the financial implications of those decisions. He says council members need to work together and they need to take care of people.

“I hear from people all over the community that they are not being listened to and that our city government has not taken them into account,” says Saylor, of 2142 Richard Dr. NE.

Saylor grew up in Davis, Calif., where he said his family valued “civic involvement.” His father is a member of the Davis, Calif., City Council. Saylor has a bachelor's degree in theater from Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., and, after college, he moved to Cedar Rapids, the hometown of his wife, Jennie. He works for Iowa Realty Commercial.

Since arriving in Cedar Rapids some five years ago, Saylor has taken part in the community planning effort, Fifteen in 5, with a focus on trails and a Third Street arts and entertainment district. He has been a board member of the young professionals' group, Access Iowa, which is now ImpactCR. He now sits on the City Hall task force on smart growth and infill development.

Saylor says he wants to help attract new companies and employees to Cedar Rapids, but he says it won't happen unless Cedar Rapids becomes the kind of place where companies and employees want to come.

“We really do need to continue to improve our community, and not just try to get it back to where it was before (the flood),” he says.

On the specific issue of building a new city hall, Saylor says city government needs to “reinhabit” the Veterans Memorial Building as the City Council sorts out over time whether any long-term cost saving of a new building outweighs the upfront costs required to build it.