The Gazette’s endorsement for Cedar Rapids mayor: Tiffany O’Donnell

Note: Staff editorials represent the consensus view of The Gazette’s editorial board. Read more about the process: Previewing The Gazette’s 2021 election endorsements

It has been a difficult four-year cycle for Cedar Rapids.

Since the last time voters elected a mayor, the city has been through a deadly infectious disease pandemic and a devastating inland hurricane. That can’t be blamed on local leadership, but those crises have been compounded by elected officials’ failure to build healthy working relationships.

The Gazette editorial board thinks it’s time for a change. We endorse Tiffany O’Donnell for Cedar Rapids mayor.

The field of four candidates was quickly whittled down to two in our deliberations.

Mayor Brad Hart has occasionally shown signs of strong leadership — like when he instituted a local mask mandate in defiance of state officials — but overall he lacks a discernible vision for the city and has failed to build consensus for his priorities.

Hart’s demeanor during his first term makes it difficult to support him. He has a habit of making inappropriate outbursts, including during this campaign when he threatened a local nonprofit’s legal status because it hosted an event with an opposing candidate.

Hart showed a lack of accountability during two of the biggest challenges of his mayorship — the aftermath of the ill-fated Newbo Evolve festival and the August 2020 derecho. In both cases, Hart skirted the blame to others. The buck has to stop somewhere.

We see O’Donnell as someone who can bring competing factions together, both among the public and in the halls of government. That comes at a critical moment for Cedar Rapids and the greater Eastern Iowa community.

One challenger, Myra Colby Bradwell, did not respond to invitations to meet with the editorial board.

For us, it came down to O’Donnell and Amara Andrews. Both candidates have impressive backgrounds in professional and community work. They have shown they have the skills and connections to get things done. We are confident Cedar Rapids will excel under either of their leadership.

However, a few statements made by Andrews and her campaign give us pause.

One of those statements came at The Gazette’s mayoral forum in September. When we asked candidates whether they support the city’s speed enforcement cameras, Andrews said yes because the city needs the revenue, even though as a lawyer she thinks the cameras may be unconstitutional.

It was alarming to hear a candidate for city office openly endorse a policing-for-profit program, especially one she suspects could be illegal. Critics of automated traffic enforcement have long accused it of being a revenue-generating scheme, and Andrews lent them credence. If cameras are necessary, they should be focused on promoting road safety and reducing police interactions with motorists, not on filling the city coffers.

We are also concerned about the partisan tone of Andrews’ campaign. She is raising money through ActBlue, a firm formally associated with Democrats. When other candidates challenged her to release her fundraising figures in advance of the preelection deadline, she declined. She also has published campaign materials trying to link Hart and O’Donnell to former President Donald Trump.

It’s no secret that Cedar Rapids voters lean toward Democrats, as does this editorial board with our endorsements in recent years. We share Andrews’ concerns about the “damaging” policies put forth by state and federal Republicans, such as restricting voting access.

However, the work of city government is nonpartisan. It requires leaders to work with people of all political persuasions, and that is difficult if one is closely tied to a particular party.

O’Donnell is a registered Republican but she has also supported Democrats. She said she asked to speak to the local Democratic Phoenix Club but was denied. There is no evidence that she is actively seeking to align herself with the GOP as a candidate.

In her meeting with the editorial board, O’Donnell presented an impressive list of priorities that align well with our values — promoting walkability and infill development, retaining young people and diversifying downtown businesses, to name a few. She is strongly supportive of the recently approved climate action plan and city’s new police review board, which runs against the claim that she is a right-wing operative.

We see O’Donnell as someone who can bring competing factions together, both among the public and in the halls of government. That comes at a critical moment for Cedar Rapids and the greater Eastern Iowa community.

The next mayor will face big challenges. They must work to repair the city’s relationship with the county, especially as flood protection projects move forward; restore public trust that was badly damaged in the derecho; and reposition Cedar Rapids as a prime candidate for business investment and state grants.

We think O’Donnell is up to the challenge.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com

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