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Brad Hart Wins Runoff Election for Cedar Rapids Mayor

brad hart
Katarina Sostaric
/
IPR
Brad Hart greets supporters after winning the Cedar Rapids mayoral race on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017.

Brad Hart was elected mayor of Cedar Rapids Tuesday night.

Hart won 54 percent of the vote against Monica Vernon in the runoff election for Cedar Rapids mayor.

Hart is an attorney, and this was his first run for public office. He says voters may have wanted someone with a new perspective.

"We tried to get a message out that we’re going to be inclusive and accessible and just make the best decisions we can, and I think that resonated," Hart says.

The election went to a runoff after Vernon and Hart were the top two candidates in a field of eight people who ran in the November general election. Vernon is a businesswoman and former city council member who also ran for Congress.

Hart says even though it’s his first time running for public office, he doesn’t expect major challenges in his new role.

"It’s really just working hard to develop chemistry with the city council and the new council members, making sure we all understand our role, and that we’re going to leave politics at the door and just make the best decisions for Cedar Rapids," Hart says. "That shouldn’t be that hard."

Hart is expected to take over from Mayor Ron Corbett on Jan. 2. 

Katarina Sostaric is IPR's State Government Reporter