Mayor Corbett Pitches Conditional Love

If Mayor Ron Corbett's third Condition of the City speech were a book, I'd call it “Spend, Pray, Walk, Love.” Anybody else smell a movie deal?

Really, it was two speeches. The first 30 minutes was suitable for C-SPAN. The last 15, more geared toward Lifetime. The mayor clearly delivered the first part. But from my seat way in the back of the room, squinting, I wondered if Dr. Phil had stepped in for the second.

The first part was all meat and spreadsheets.

The mayor asked his large audience dotted with community leaders and business barons to conjure up a metaphorical Viewmaster (youngsters, to the Google) picturing the many major, pricey recovery projects the city is digging into, from the new library to the Paramount Theatre to the Convention Complex. Corbett insisted that local taxes are covering only about 30 percent of the tab, with piles of state, federal and private dollars footing the rest. The guy elected three years ago vowing to whisk away delay for a new era of decisiveness now has to spend much of his time defending decisions.

“This is what had to be done,” he said.

His Viewmaster didn't show how it will all turn out, however, especially the hotel gamble, now pegged at an eye-popping $44 million. He did announce a 10-year, $3.8 million deal with U.S. Cellular to keep the company's name on a renovated U.S. Cellular Center. The hunt is also on for four foundation sponsors at $1 million each.

The city's crumbling streets are a “dark cloud,” he said, while praying that state lawmakers will raise the gas tax to pay for more pavement.

Soon, the speech took a turn from infrastructre to introspection. I should have seen it coming. Maybe it was a hint when he mentioned that seats in the Paramount are being changed to “enhance patron comfort.” Or perhaps when he touted Cedar Rapids' Red Box ranking as one of the country's most romantic cities. “Apparently, we all like a chick flick once in a while,” Corbett said.

The mayor implored us to embrace the Blue Zones project, a worthwhile effort aimed at making us healthy and fit. As in theater seats, etc. Corbett talked about the value of “walking school buses” for kids. No mention of walking City Council meetings, however. “Have you ever seen the show, ‘The Biggest Loser?' ” Corbett asked the audience. Sure. But I've never seen a guy who delivers a 6,600-word speech lead a push for portion control.

Then came the love.

“I want you to fall in love with Cedar Rapids,” Corbett said. “We know we can love other people, we can love animals and we certainly can love food like ice cream, but can we love a city? The answer is yes.”

Ice cream? Surely he meant celery.

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make," Corbett said, quoting The Beatles after urging citizens to get involved in their community.

But there was no love for LOST. Last year, Corbett delivered what ammounted to a 4,900-word full-court press to pass a local option sales tax extension for flood protection. This year, with another vote looming, he made a brief, veiled reference and didn't address the subject until he was asked during post-speech Q&A time.

A striking transformation. Dr. Phil, any thoughts?