Ron Corbett (born October 12, 1960) is an American politician and former mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Early life and education

Corbett was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, in 1960. In 1974, his family moved to Iowa and he later graduated from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in Mount Vernon, Iowa, in 1983.

Career

After graduation, Corbett worked for The Equitable Life Insurance Company as an agent for ten years. In 1986 he was elected to the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

, where he served 7 terms. He was Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. He then resigned his House seat to become president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. He left that position for Cedar Rapids-based international trucking firm

CRST CRST The Transportation Solution, Inc. (formerly CRST International) is an American freight company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1955 by Herald and Miriam Smith, it is a privately held company with a current fleet of about 4,500 truck ...

, working directly under executive director John Smith. He was elected mayor of Cedar Rapids in 2009 with 62% of the vote. He was reelected to another four-year term in 2013. In December 2016, he announced that he would not seek reelection for mayor of Cedar Rapids but would instead consider a run for the Republican nomination for governor of Iowa in 2018. In 2015, he resigned from CRST and launched Engage Iowa, a conservative think tank of which he serves as president. Its first policy initiative, on water quality and state tax reform, was introduced in November 2015.

References

External links

Corbett's city of Cedar Rapids page
Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Speakers of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Mayors of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cornell College alumni 1960 births Living people 21st-century American politicians {{Iowa-mayor-stub