Ryan Russell, a 28-year-old graduate of Mount Mercy College, says he will seek to unseat District 1 council member Kris Gulick

Ryan Russell, a 28-year-old logistics specialist, will try to unseat incumbent District 1 council member Kris Gulick in the Nov. 3 city election.

Russell, a 2004 graduate of Mount Mercy College, says he majored in political science and history because of his interest in elective office, and he says he is running for office to help bring more progress to the city and to help the city get more done.

“The ideas are there, but we need to get them rolling,” says Russell, of 1322 O Ave. NE. “That's my big push for running.”

Russell, who says he has been an avid observer of the City Council, points to plans for the development of the New Bohemia arts and entertainment district and an indoor farmers market as examples of ideas that City Hall needs to push along.

Russell was a citizen member of a Rebuild Iowa Office task force that focused on flood damage to the city's cultural attractions. He says that experience gave him a chance to participate first hand in one aspect of flood recovery.

He says City Hall's flood recovery has been good, but could be better.

“I want to make sure Cedar Rapids is in the driver's seat of flood recovery and not just waiting on Washington, D.C., and Des Moines,” he says.

In addition to flood recovery, Russell puts crime prevention and neighborhood revitalization at the top of his list of priorities.

He says he doesn't remember news stories here from a decade ago that talked about afternoon shootings and staged robberies of pizza deliverymen like he hears now.

“I think it's the type of crime that's taking place now that has us all concerned,” he says. A native of the Chicago area, he says, “I grew up with that and I don't want it out here.”

He participated in an organized neighborhood walk in May through the Wellington Heights and Mound View neighborhoods, and he says he saw up close how dilapidated homes can detract from nicely kept ones on the same city blocks. He says the key to fixing neighborhoods is insisting that property owners follow city ordinances and codes; it's not hiring another 50 police officers.

“If I'm elected, I'll vow to get into these neighborhoods and start making changes,” he says. “It's got to happen. Or you will literally have neighborhoods that crumble.”

Russell also considers economic development a priority. He says Cedar Rapids has got to keep and build on its economic base and at the same time figure out how cities like Dubuque, Council Bluffs and West Des Moines have been able to land the likes of IBM, Google and Microsoft.

Russell says he and his wife, Lori, decided to put roots down in Cedar Rapids while others graduating from college in Cedar Rapids took off for Chicago, the Twin Cities and other larger cities.

“Maybe I, coming from a local college and being young enough, can be an example to some these kids graduating now,” he says.

Russell and his wife have a young son. He works at LimoLink International in Marion, a company that arranges chauffeured transportation for executives in cities across the nation and around the world. He also conducts tours as a volunteer at the historic Brucemore mansion.