Re-elect Mayor Brad Cavanagh

“I am running for re-election because I believe in this city, I believe in Dubuqers, and I have never been more excited about the future of Dubuque.”

Dubuque Success in Brad's First Term

Economic Development

Return of daily commercial air service
New business development
Expansion of longtime Dubuque businesses
Improvements to Chaplain Schmitt Island - Island Social family fun zone, Key Hotel, the Iowa Amphitheater
$1 million toward a permanent stadium at the Field of Dreams
New Dubuque hotels
Expanding riverboat industry with regular Dubuque stops

Housing, Infrastructure, Community Development

Over 2,400 new housing units approved to address Dubuque's housing shortage
$30 million in federal grant funds for major infrastructure projects - 14th Street overpass and North End flooding protection
State and federal funding for major sewer upgrades for residential and commercial development
Resurfacing of nearly 50 miles of Dubuque roadways
Secured grant funds for the Bright Minds Childcare campus
Improvements to services at ImOn Arena, Grand River Center, and staffing at Flora & Sutton Pools

Public Safety

Increased salaries for firefighters and police officers
Full staffing in the Fire Department
New ladder truck and ambulances
Improvements to Fire Headquarters and stations throughout the city
Created Police Critical Incident Team and Precision Policing Center
Equipped every officer with tasers
New state-of-the-art facility for 911 Emergency Communications services

Results for Dubuque

Brad’s leadership as Mayor has been about one thing. Results.

When our firefighters and police officers said they needed more staffing to keep our community safe, Brad led the City Council to increase pay for all first responders, restructure departments for more effective services, and make capital investments in the equipment and tools needed to get the job done right. Our Fire Department has now been at full staffing for over a year, and our Police Department is on its way to the best staffing numbers we have seen in years.

When a community study showed that Dubuque needed 1100 more housing units to meet the housing needs of current and future Dubuquers, Brad led the City Council to pass housing development incentives. These were so successful that we now have 2400 housing units in some phase of construction in our city.

When workers throughout Dubuque said we need more childcare and we need it now, Brad worked with Dubuque Initiatives and Greater Dubuque Development Corporation to not only add hundreds of childcare openings in the city but also create a wage enhancement program to pay childcare workers better.

When we lost all commercial air service at our Dubuque Regional Airport in the first year of his term, Brad gathered community leaders and got to work. Within two years, Brad and those leaders returned daily commercial air service to Chicago. Then, when the community said we needed morning flights to make air service work, Brad and those same leaders worked with Denver Air Connection to do just that. Morning and evening flights will begin soon.

When you insisted on safe, smooth roads throughout the community, Brad led the City to lay nearly 50 miles of new road surface citywide.

When the railroad announced a major merger that will double the length and the number of trains traveling through Dubuque by 2027, Brad led the way to secure a $25 Million grant from the Department of Transportation to build a bridge over the tracks to keep people and goods moving.

When the community came together to form a new vision for the Central Avenue corridor, Brad led the City to work with Dubuque Initiatives, the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Dubuque Main Street, and businesses and residents in the Central Avenue neighborhood to create housing, new businesses, and a new roadway plan to revitalize this historic neighborhood.

When developers and business leaders in Dubuque said they needed better performance and less red tape from the City of Dubuque, Brad led the way in increasing efficiency in City departments, improving communication between everyone ready to build, and passing aggressive development incentives that have increased housing and job opportunities in all corners of the city.

When greyhound racing ended at the Q Casino and the Dubuque community said they wanted a new, fun experience on Chaplain Schmitt Island, Brad led the City Council and the DRA through a new master plan that will give us a new amphitheater, the new Key Hotel, the new Island Social family fun zone and a newly renovated casino, ensuring the DRA will continue to succeed and help us keep investing in city services and nonprofit organizations.

Brad and the Dubuque City Council accomplished all this with real fiscal responsibility. Keeping Dubuque’s property taxes at the lowest rate of the eleven largest cities in Iowa, and keeping the city’s debt healthy, leading Moody’s Investor Services to improve the City’s credit rating to Aa2 and declare that Dubuque’s “financial operations are strong”.

As your mayor, Brad has delivered results for you.

As we look ahead to the next four years, Mayor Cavanagh stands ready to keep delivering.

Brad will build on the staffing successes at our Police and Fire departments to ensure full staffing and service to keep Dubuque safe.
Work with developers to get that housing built.
Beautify and improve our excellent city parks.
Keep improving our roadways throughout the city.
Continuously improve city infrastructure to help residents and businesses thrive.
Keep fighting to increase our daily air service.
Get the East-West Corridor project back on track
Create public-private partnerships to build new sports and recreation facilities Dubuquers need and deserve.

“We have accomplished such amazing work together, and I look forward to even more success for Dubuque in the next four years.”

More about Brad

Brad Cavanagh was elected as Mayor in November 2021. Previously, he served on the Dubuque City Council beginning in 2019 representing the city’s Fourth Ward.

Brad is a small business owner and social worker with over 20 years of practice experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in social work from Saint Louis University. From 2010-2021, he taught at Loras College in Dubuque as an associate professor of social work and currently owns and operates a fair trade store in downtown Dubuque. Brad and his wife, Jennifer, have two sons.

Brad is a Dubuque native and has served his hometown in several ways since returning to Dubuque in 2008. Prior to his election to City Council, he was a member of the Dubuque Housing Commission, served as Vice Chairman of the Dubuque County Food Policy Council, was a board member for the Fountain of Youth, served as Chair of the Guiding Coalition for the City’s Circles Initiative, and is a co-founder of Resources Unite. As Mayor, Brad serves on the boards of Dubuque Initiatives, the Dubuque Racing Association (DRA), the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Travel Dubuque, the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce, DBQ Air, and chairs the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Transportation Study. Brad is also serving as the 2024-2025 President of the Iowa League of Cities and is an active member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.