Business owner Jake Brummer has exited the race for mayor of Cedar Rapids, and endorsed Amara Andrews for the office.
Brummer, who is co-owner of the Red Frog in Czech Village, launched his campaign early last week and was running what he called a “normal guy campaign” that was completely self-funded.
“I want to get the normal person’s voice in the public eye and voice the problems that regular people have because I feel they’ve been ignored for too long,” Brummer told Little Village in an interview on Friday, a day before he dropped out of the race.
Brummer announced on Saturday that he was exiting the race because he believed Andrews had a similar vision to him after listening to her announcement speech. He added that she also has the campaign infrastructure established that’s “needed to go the distance.”
Andrews officially kicked off her campaign for mayor last Thursday at NewBo City Market. She shared that she will bring a “new vision to local government” and be an advocate for labor unions, working people and equal opportunity.
“I really am running to represent the people of Cedar Rapids,” Andrews told Little Village in an interview prior to her campaign kick-off. “I really want to … represent the voices of people who nobody is paying attention to, and I have a team that is dedicated and feels the same way and has shared values that I believe the majority of people in Cedar Rapids have about equality and justice [and] jobs for everyone. So I just really want to convey that this campaign is not about me. It’s really about the people of Cedar Rapids.”
According to a news release sent out by Andrews’ campaign, Brummer has agreed to serve as a campaign ambassador.
“We are thrilled to have Jake’s support,” Andrews said in a news release. “Our message has been well received throughout the community and we’ve landed some significant endorsements, but having the support of another person who was running for the same office is huge.”
Brummer’s exit from the race leaves three candidates: Andrews, CEO of Women Lead Change Tiffany O’Donnell and current Mayor Brad Hart, who is seeking reelection.
The mayoral election will take place in November.
