Potts supporting Shey for City Council in December runoff

Kathy Potts, who finished third in the District 3 race for City Council on Nov. 3, is supporting Pat Shey over Jerry McGrane in the Dec. 1 runoff, she announced on Monday.

Potts, 50, and Shey, 50, are Republicans, McGrane, 70, a Democrat, in what is a non-partisan City Hall race.

McGrane is the District 3 incumbent, Shey an at-large council member who has decided to run for McGrane's council seat.

On Nov. 3, Shey won 43 percent of the vote; McGrane, 38 percent; and Potts, 16 percent.

District 3 is the only one of five council districts with both east-side and west-side precincts. Potts lives in southwest Cedar Rapids, Shey and McGrane in southeast Cedar Rapids.

In endorsing Shey, Potts called him “thoughtful, articulate and solution-oriented on so many of the critical issues facing Cedar Rapids - job creation, economic development, flood recovery, neighborhood restoration.”

“Even more importantly, he's run a positive campaign that respects his opponents and the people of Cedar Rapids,” Potts said.

Potts, a west-side homeowner and flood victim, said Shey is the best candidate to bridge concerns on both the east and west sides of the river and in multiple neighborhoods in a council district with some of the city's poorest and wealthiest precincts.