Corbett's campaign funds hit six-figures, nearly three times more than Fagan as Nov. 3 election date approaches

Ron Corbett has raised $101,072 in mayoral campaign contributions and Brian Fagan, $35,099, with each candidate saying his fundraising approach is the right one.

P.T. Larson, a third mayoral candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot, has not needed to file a financial disclosure report with the state's Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board because he has raised more than $750 in the race.

Corbett, 49, vice president at trucking firm CRST Inc., said Thursday that his ability to raise $100,000 in campaign contributions is an indication of the breadth of support for his candidacy.

Corbett said, too, that he has needed to raise money to support a lengthier campaign - he announced for the mayor's race in early March, Fagan at the end of July. The longer campaign, he said, was needed to battle the advantages that Fagan, an at-large City Council member, enjoys by virtue of incumbency.

Fagan, he said, appears on television every week at council meetings and he's been the beneficiary of an assortment of City Hall fliers, mailings, e-mails and appearances on City Hall's own cable TV show. Corbett also said that City Hall has waged its own “little media campaign” in the last couple weeks designed, he said, to benefit Fagan and other council incumbents. He pointed to three things: City Hall's release of a $50,000 citizen survey to say the city is moving in the right direction; a City Hall news conference to announce the creation of a new medical district in the city; and the city's flood-recovery director jumping in the repaired Ellis Park pool.

“I think there's some timing issues for some of these announcements this close to the election that I question,” Corbett said. “But I'm not going to raise a big stink about it. I'm just trying to close my campaign out hard.”

Fagan, 37, an attorney with Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, said on Thursday that he never has had any interest in raising $100,000 to run for the Cedar Rapids mayor's job.

“I've said from the beginning, this isn't about money,” Fagan said. “It's about votes. And I think the residents of Cedar Rapids understand that.”

Fagan said $35,000 is sufficient for him to send out mailings, put up signs and advertise in the media to get his message out. Hard work and a good, “positive” message are doing the rest, he said.

Fagan noted that all of his contributions come from individuals, none from political-action committees or “special interests.” As importantly, he said, all of his major campaign purchases have been from local, flood-impacted businesses. He named Adcraft Printing, Sign Pro and Bimm Ridder Sportswear as three of those.

“I've have conducted my campaign to stick to the issues and be positive about how we're going to continue to bring this community together and not tear it apart,” Fagan said. “I'm working hard, and will continue to work hard.”

Fagan and Corbett both thanked contributors for their generosity.

Corbett said most of his contributions have come from individuals, but he noted $10,500 had come from labor and business organizations. He said both construction interests and labor interests have supported his campaign because they want the jobs that will come with post-flood rebuilding to stay in the community. “And I agree with that,” he said.

From his vantage point, mayoral candidate Larson said Thursday that the campaign contributions going to Corbett and Fagan have resulted in what he said were “some of the worst” negative adds he's seen in Cedar Rapids. This is Larson's thirteenth try to win a spot on the City Council.

“Negative ads don't represent the heart and soul of Cedar Rapids,” he said.

In 2005 - the first election is what that year was the city's new government with a part-time mayor and council and a full-time professional manager - mayoral candidates each campaigned with about $50,000 in funds. Scott Olson raised $54,701 in campaign contributions and winner Kay Halloran $53,302, though Halloran's tally included a $20,050 loan from herself to the campaign.

Halloran defeated Olson by 667 votes, 12,753 to 12,086.

The part-time mayor's job currently pays $32,266, while other council members make $16,137.

In 2001 - the last election to what had been the city's full-time council - Paul Pate unseated Lee Clancey in a campaign in which, together, the two candidates spent $226,811. They were competing for a full-time job paying in the $80,000-a-year range.