Dale Todd keeps District 3 seat on Cedar Rapids City Council

CEDAR RAPIDS — Dale Todd handily kept his seat representing District 3 on the Cedar Rapids City Council in Tuesday’ elections, prevailing over newcomer Tamara Marcus.

Lauded as an experienced community leader, Todd, 64, regional director of Hatch Development, won with nearly 63 percent of the vote, a total of 3,008 of 4,809 votes counted in the District 3 race, according to unofficial results.

“The problems and challenges that we have, there is no simple fixes: homelessness, climate change, gun violence,” Todd said. “These are challenges that take time. The good news is we have the framework in place. Now, we’ll put in the action steps and get ‘er done.”

This was the only contested race Tuesday for the-nine member Cedar Rapids City Council besides the mayor’s seat. District 3 encompasses much of southeast Cedar Rapids, including downtown and NewBo, plus parts of the southwest quadrant.

Todd’s next four-year term begins at noon Jan. 1, 2022. The part-time role pays $19,420.70 a year.

With uncontested races, Tyler Olson, Marty Hoeger and Ashley Vanorny were reelected Tuesday to stay in their council seats.

Todd, once the commissioner of parks and public property under the city’s previous form of government, has said he views himself a connector who links residents throughout his district and beyond to services they need. His platform promoted common-sense law enforcement to prevent violent crimes and gun violence, youth engagement, stabilized neighborhoods and urban development.

As a resident and elected official, he has championed the revitalization of Cedar Lake and helping bring the long-held citizen dream to life through the grassroots ConnectCR effort. The $20 million project will transform the urban lake and build a pedestrian-bike bridge across the Cedar River south of downtown.

Todd took the fundraising lead with $38,817.41 from 205 contributions, according to campaign disclosure reports filed by Oct. 28, the most recent filing period, and he still had $21,322.56 on hand. Todd started with $1,592.41 in his account.

Marcus, 30, Linn County government’s sustainability manager and co-founder of not-for-profit Advocates for Social Justice, raised $23,949.28 and had $3,589.50 on hand.

After buying a round for the bar at Clancey’s Keg to celebrate his re-election, Todd said the last year has been “incredibly tough” and that the win was a public acknowledgment that progress has been made.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do with a great city team,” Todd said. “We’ve got a great city manager. We’re going to get up tomorrow and we’re going to go to work.”

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