Bring your smartphone to Cedar Rapids State of the City

CEDAR RAPIDS - Mayor Ron Corbett is going out to the edge for his sixth State of the City speech.

With an expected luncheon audience of more than 800 on Feb. 25, Corbett will invite listeners to use their smartphones to text votes for or against city policies at the moment he is explaining them - and in many instances, championing them - as he speaks.

The audience votes will instantly appear on giant screens at the Convention Center venue to reveal support or opposition.

'You know me; I'm a risk taker, so I'm willing to accept what comes,” Corbett said Thursday.

Corbett said he will ask the audience to weigh in on the city's use of economic development incentives, the city's Paving for Progress street repair program, the casino proposal, traffic enforcement cameras, and the redevelopment of Cedar Lake.

Maria Johnson, the city's communications manager, said the city will use an immediate polling program to pull off the voting by text during the mayor's speech.

'He has some plans for some more-controversial questions that could (potentially) not go in a positive direction,” Johnson said. 'It's not all going to be fluff.”

City Council member Monica Vernon, who owned and operated a market research firm for years, said the voting results won't represent a scientific sampling of Cedar Rapids voters because the audience won't be a random sample of city residents. Even so, community leaders typically are among those who attend the speech, and what they say will provide a useful view of the community's mind-set, Vernon said.

'In all my years of market research, I told people, ‘It's better to know than not know,'” she said. 'If you're a decision-maker like the mayor, you need information, and this is one way to go about that.”

Vernon said State of the City speeches typically are one-directional, from mayor to audience. This year, the audience will be able to talk back, she said.

'That's not without risk,” she said. 'But I think it's a great idea. And I think it will be very thought-provoking.” Corbett said ideally a mayor is looking to achieve an alignment in which the mayor and City Council, the city staff and the public agree on the same direction for the city.

'Some very dynamic things can happen in your community when there's that alignment,” he said

Corbett said he is not sure what he will do if the texting votes go south.