Replay: At-large candidate forum, Oct. 19

Click here to watch a video replay of the debate.

The three candidates for the at-large seat on the City Council participated in a candidate forum and debate at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The event, at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 Third Ave. SE, was the last of three sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG-TV9.

The one-hour forums began with candidates debating on topics of their choice, followed by questions from Gazette Opinion Page Editor Jeff Tecklenburg and KCRG-TV9 news anchorman Bruce Aune.

Voters throughout the city get to vote in the at-large council race. The incumbent for that at-large position, Tom Podzimek, is not seeking re-election.

The candidates are:

• Carl Cortez, 66, of 4118 Paradise Ct. NW, a retired IBM service technician and member of the city's River Recreation Commission.
• Ann Poe, 58, of 2560 Country Club Parkway SE, who worked for nearly three years as community liaison in Cedar Rapids for the state's Rebuild Iowa Office.
• Justin Wasson, 23, of 1621 Washington Ave. SE, a recent Iowa State University graduate who is a hands-on vice president of operations for a pressure-washing and cleaning company once owned by his father.

Two other council seats - for District 2 and District 4 - will be filled in the Nov. 8 election. Forums in those two races were held earlier this month. Only residents in those districts vote for their district council members.