Cedar Rapids City Council runoff election is today

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today for Cedar Rapids voters to vote in two runoff races for the City Council.

All voters in the city can vote in the at-large race between Don Karr Jr. and Aaron Saylor.

Those in District 3 - which has precincts in southeast, southwest and northwest Cedar Rapids - also are choosing between two current members of the City Council, District 3 member Jerry McGrane and Pat Shey, an at-large member who decided to run for the district seat.

Karr, 64, owned Affordable Plumbing and Remodeling before selling it to his daughters. Saylor, 28, is an investment Realtor with Iowa Realty Commercial.

McGrane, 70, is a past neighborhood leader and one-time railroad and factory worker. Shey, 50, is an attorney and a former Iowa legislator who owns a small construction company and an insulation company with council member Tom Podzimek.

In the Nov. 3 general election, Karr received 7,000 votes to Saylor's 6,669. Shey got 1,714 to McGrane's 1,505. Neither tally was sufficient to avoid a runoff in what had been multicandidate races.

On Nov. 3, Ron Corbett won the mayor's race; Chuck Swore won an at-large seat; Kris Gulick was re-elected in District 1; and Justin Shields ran unopposed in District 5.

Podzimek, District 2 member Monica Vernon and District 4 member Chuck Wieneke were not up for re-election.

All seats are four-year terms.