Corbett's State of the City

I bravely trekked through a frigid wind to the Crowne Plaza over the noon hour to see Mayor Ron Corbett's State of the City speech.

It was an important moment in our civic history. And lunch was free.

Was it the finest piece of oratory I've ever heard? No.

Was it the first speech I've ever heard that quoted the Bible, the musical "Wicked" and Emeril Lagasse? Yes.

(A text of the speech prepared for delivery is here.)

The ballroom was packed, with lots of business people, development types, local leaders, city staff and a couple of tables reserved for flooded-out residents. Clearly, a broad spectrum of the city is still very interested in what this guy has to say. Or they just really like chewy chicken.

Corbett didn't plow much new  ground. He spent the opening graphs talking about how the city has a split personality, with some businesses humming along while others are barely breathing. I seem to remember hearing an opening like this somewhere before.

Ron Corbett: "I believe that we are somewhere between running on eight cylinders and life support..."

Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

This was a speech that focused on consensus. Corbett said the city must have goals and objectives and focal points for action. Flood recovery must be  focal point one, along with building a "fruitful" economy. Tough to disagree with any of that.

On flood recovery, he touted his successful effort to get fair market value for home buyouts set at 107 percent. He wants to start using local option sales tax dollars to fill recovery cracks and press the feds and the state for comprehensive flood protection, including levees and mitigation measures in the watershed upstream. Corbett said he will consider himself a "failure" if he doesn't secure funding for a protection system. The stakes are high, and clearly Corbett recognizes that.

He said in Washington, they say "Too big to fail." But in CR, we need to coin a new phrase: "No one is too small or too unimportant to let fall through the cracks. Absolutely no one." I like it, but much less catchy.

Economically, he talked about keeping property taxes in check, creating jobs and putting up that big "open for business sign" he's always talking about. He did not say how large the sign would be or exactly where that sign should hang. 

And will we be closed on some holidays? If so, do we also need a giant "Closed for the Holiday" Sign? Or how about a massive "Back in 5 minutes" sign. Where are the details, mayor?

He wants to change the "code enforcement" department to "code assistance" so people feel better when they get a letter from the agency in the mail. The envelope will still likely contain a scary notice of enforcement, but that return address will seem far less menacing.

He quoted Proverbs 31:8-9 as his "Mayor's Verse" -- "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

He quoted a song from "Wicked" that he says sums up the struggle between big dreams and hard realities -- "Don't dream too far and don't lose sight of who you are."

He quoted Emeril to explain what Cedar Rapids must do to its business development efforts -- "Kick it up a notch."

Sadly, Corbett did not yell "Bam!"

All in all, I found Corbett's first big address to be conversational, engaging and concise, which I think fits his governing style. He hit all the right notes and most of the big issues. He failed to make a front-page-worthy gaffe, which is, obviously, disappointing. But he's got three years and 10 months left in his term. Give him time.

He finished up by asking everyone to stand and clink glasses in a toast. "I believe in Cedar Rapids," we all said in unison. Nice touch.

And during Q and A, he made some pretty big news: "The library will be built in Cedar Rapids."

Well, that's settled.