Cedar Rapids at large: Wade Wagner

Forty years ago I stood on the deck of I-380 with my father above the Five-In-One bridge while it was under construction. He was a bridge inspector with the DOT.

I thought to myself, even as a teenager, how proud I was of my hometown. Our skyline was growing, the riverfront was beautifully manicured thanks to urban renewal, and a modern highway was winding through town. We'd become a 'real city”. This was the vision of Mayor Don Canney - a leader I got to know very well. First, as a college intern in his office, and then for many years, as a journalist, covering him.

I was with Mayor Canney the day he broke ground on the Five Seasons Center and hotel, the Ground Transportation Center and the new airport. He secured funds for a new water treatment plant, and boldly traveled to Korea to bring us hundreds of good jobs.

Public administration is a noble profession requiring keen leadership, imagination, courage, and a thick skin. Mayor Canney embodied all these traits. He and other commissioners were the inspiration for me to be actively engaged in the future of our city.

Indeed, as we begin a new chapter in our community in the budding century, I would be honored and humbled to represent my fellow citizens as we move forward. My priorities as a council member will be: Economic development and jobs, public safety, streets improvements, flood mitigation, recreation, green energy, and the continued enrichment of the New Bo district, Kingston Village, Time Check and Czech Village.

One final thought our visionary Mayor Canney would appreciate as we approach 2020. China will invest more than $300 billion in our country creating 260,000 jobs in the next five years - why not here and why not now?

Exciting times, full of promise and potential.

' More information: Facebook: Wade Wagner