Corbett Unshackled

Maybe Mayor Ron Corbett wasn't committing a fib of ambition.

Last year, while the Republican former House speaker was running for Cedar Rapids' non-partisan mayor's seat, there was ample speculation about hidden ambitions. Some Democrats worried a Corbett win could boost his stock for future partisan pursuits.

Surely, a guy who was once the GOP's big man at the Statehouse won't be satisfied with a city gig for long.

Corbett insisted it was all hooey. He only wants to be mayor. Stop rolling your eyes.

Then he takes office. He forges a pact with labor unions to pay a “prevailing wage” on public projects, sparking more than a little grumbling among Republicans. Statehouse Democrats even used Corbett's stand to argue for a statewide prevailing wage law.

Corbett lobbied for expansion of Gov. Chet Culver's I-JOBS program - a bonding effort criticized by Republicans - to get more recovery bucks for Cedar Rapids.

He tried and failed to get a higher hotel/motel tax rate. A Cedar Rapids buy-local ordinance has turned off regional free marketeers. And $500,000 worth of Yardy anti-tip plates don't scream fiscal conservative.

Other than the Yardy fiasco, I think Corbett's explanations make sense. It's tough to argue with sticking up for local workers and businesses during a very tough time. Asking for a higher hotel/motel rate, with voter approval, makes sense when you're seeking bucks to revive downtown. And I-JOBS, for all its flaws, has been good to Cedar Rapids.

Still, it's not exactly a clear path up the GOP ladder. But Corbett really doesn't seem to care.

“I don't have the shackles of a partisan label on me,” Corbett said on last weekend's Iowa Public Television's “Iowa Press” program, which used “R-Cedar Rapids” in his on-screen identifier. OK, shackled a little. “I'm a non-partisan guy trying to take care of our town.”

It will take time for me to accept this. I watched this guy as House speaker, a job that required strident partisanship.

Now he's just a non-partisan guy. Got it.

Still, my ambition sense tingles. Prevailing wage, etc., are political footnotes if Cedar Rapids recovers and prospers while Corbett is mayor. If he is seen as a success, and Republicans again value governing ability over outrage in the future, his stock will rise.

House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said Corbett returned to his Capitol haunts last month and spoke to the House Republican caucus. “He was received well,” Paulsen said. “I don't think Ron has a problem with his Republican credentials.”

So don't toss out those shackles just yet.

Comments: (319) 398-8452 or todd.dorman@gazcomm.com

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