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Corbett ready to run

Former Cedar Rapids Mayor seeks GOP nomination for governor seat

Ron Corbett

“In 1999, a lot of people thought it was my turn to run, but it wasn’t my time,” said Ron Corbett. “Now I have the time. It’s going to be up to the voters to see whether it’s my turn or not.”

Corbett is seeking the Republican nomination for governor and will be challenging Gov. Kim Reynolds in the gubernatorial primary on June 5. Reynolds has been in office since May of 2017 after taking over when former Gov. Terry Branstad left his position to be appointed U.S. Ambassador to China.

Corbett, the former mayor of Cedar Rapids, announced his intention to run in 2017.

“I actually had been thinking about it several months prior to that. In December of 2016, I announced I wasn’t going to run for re-election as mayor,” Corbett said. “I wanted there to be ample time for candidates to put together their campaign and for people to decide who the next mayor of Cedar Rapids was going to be.”

“I got elected right after the flood of 2008,” said Corbett. “This was a pretty tough time in Cedar Rapids. The town was devastated by the flood. It was the largest natural disaster in the history of our state.”

Because of damage related to the flood, 1300 homes had to be demolished, 100 businesses were affected.

Corbett credits his bottom-up decision making style with rebuilding Cedar Rapids after the flood of 2008.

“I really worked hard to incorporate the viewpoints of the citizens on the rebuilding of Cedar Rapids,” Corbett said.

He said he believes in term limits and think it’s good to have a fresh approach to some of the issues and the challenges that a community faces.

Brad Hart took over as Cedar Rapids Mayor in December.

Originally from Erie, PA, Corbett moved to Iowa in 1974. He graduated from Newton High School and then from Cornell College in Vernon in 1983.

After college, Corbett worked for The Equitable Life Insurance Company as an agent for ten years. He was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1986. He served seven terms in the Iowa House of Representatives where he represented District 52. Corbett was Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999.

In 1999, he resigned from the House and became president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. He left his position at the Chamber after six years to work for Cedar Rapids-based international trucking company CRST.

In 2015, Corbett launched non-profit Engage Iowa, a conservative think tank.

“I do believe that Iowa needs a new game plan,” said Corbett. “That’s the benefit of term limits. If you get the same people looking at the same problems, they’re going to come up with the same solutions.”

Corbett’s game plan is made up of what he calls the “Core Four” principles. This includes issues such as Iowa’s economy, water quality, education and health care.

“Iowa has a very high tax income tax rate of 8.98. This high tax rate is driving wealth out of our state,” said Corbett.

One example, according to Corbett, is the movement of wealth from Sioux City and Northwest Iowa to South Dakota, which is contributing to South Dakota’s influx in growth.

To promote growth, Corbett suggests a “more welcoming income tax code.” This includes keeping Iowans here and bringing more people to Iowa. Corbett is also proposing a three-percent flat rate tax code.

In 2008, a water quality report was done on the phosphates and nitrates that flow down to the Gulf of Mexico. The large amount of phosphates and nitrates created a “dead zone” in the Gulf. State leaders went back to their respective states to make a plan to counter this effect.

“We owe it to do our part to turn around the effects of the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico and the communities in Iowa that rely on clean, safe drinking water,” said Corbett.

According to Corbett, Iowa has slipped in it’s educational achievements and national rankings. He proposed the idea of an innovation fund to modernize Iowa classrooms.

“Part of it is because other states have been more aggressive when it comes to promoting education in their state,” Corbett said. “What I think made Iowa schools at the top was local control. I’m a big believer in local control. I also recognize that the state can be a partner with local school boards, teachers and parents and students.”

He also voiced concern of the number of teachers that will be available in rural Iowa schools as a larger number of individuals retire in the next five years.

“This is the tail-end of the Baby Boomers,” Corbett said. “As the tail-end of these Baby Boomers retire, where are the new teachers going to come from?”

In order to attract teachers to rural areas, he would recommend the Legislature consider allowing extra weighting for rural districts after the base budget has been given. This would assist with teacher salary and recruitment in those smaller districts.

Corbett said he has qualms about the individualized insurance market. With the lack of available providers and uncertainty of the future of Obamacare, much has to be done to stabalize the healthcare system, according to the candidate. According to Corbett, the Medicaid reimbursement rate and care need work.

“The managed care organizations have been really slow to refund the providers and that has really cash-strapped providers around the state,” Corbett said.

Corbett is an advocate of mental health and hopes to bring back more services to Iowa residents.

“The governor closed down mental health institutes in Clarenda and Mount Pleasant and the Toledo Home for Girls. That may have saved them some money at the state level, but the people that were being serviced didn’t evaporate, they just got compressed in the system,” Corbett said.

With a lack of resources, Iowans in need of mental health services are often being redirected to hospitals and law enforcement agencies.

“I would advocate for adding some beds back in the state system – between 20-25 beds – to take that pressure off locals,” said Corbett. “I also support what the Sheriffs Association has been talking about where we have some regional crisis intervention centers.”

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