Traffic School Loop Hole - South Ogden in trouble?

Some bad press is beginning with an issue first brought to our attention by Rick Westmoreland, city council candidate, nearly 2 years ago and mention often in this blog.

The Salt Lake Tribune has begun running a series of articles regarding the issue and we are following it close. Here is the latest about this issue: See Here

Interesting part is when Mayor Minster explains they canceled the program but at the same time there is nothing wrong with it. The article above states:

"South Ogden Mayor James F. Minster said the city stopped issuing invites to traffic school several months ago and "we’re not going to go back to it." Minster, however, defended the practice. "In reality, it really doesn’t matter," he said. "It was a way for people that wanted to keep their record clean. ... It’s no different than going down to the court and putting the charge in abeyance. It doesn’t go on your record. It’s just a different way of doing it."

That kind of sounds like a contradiction to me. Like saying, "I stopped stealing for no reason, but really I could have kept going if I wanted to do because there is no problem with it."

Interesting to see how this will play out with this and future elections.

My wife went through this, she got a traffic ticket and was told she had to pay for school or pay for the ticket. She felt pressured into taking the traffic course and it ended up being a waste of a class. The teacher showed late and he said he wasn't feeling well. He answered traffic questions for 45 minutes and then dismissed everyone.

Comments welcome.

Rick Westmoreland says "I told you so"

Ever since Rick Westmoreland ran for office he has been explaining South Ogden's abuse of a loop hole in the traffic school laws. Finally it seems people are taking notice. The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story explaining how South Ogden has been getting nearly $100,000 in fines for forcing people to go traffic school instead of paying for a citation. Big money maker for the city and shady at best.

You can read the whole article here: See Here.

Just remember Rick told us all first nearly 2 years ago...could be a win for him in this close city council race.

Also most recently they updated the traffic school policy so more people could take it, more often.  Now we know why.  It was a big MONEY MAKER!

For more info see my past blog posts from January regarding this issue here. http://www.fromwhereisitblog.com/search?q=traffic+school

South Ogden City Election Results

You can see the results here: http://t.co/k9UGqbX

My prediction of "Skip" being eliminated was correct.  I am surprised how close the race is between Strate and Zaugg.
Here is the breakdown:


Total Votes 1479 - 6.87% voted - Ouch!

• Michael Jacobazzi 83 5.61%
• Sallee Orr 383 25.90%
• Marvin (Skip) Sexton 52 3.52%
• Wayne M. Smith 326 22.04%
• Brent Strate 211 14.27%
• Rick T. Westmoreland 179 12.10%
• Kelly R. Zaugg 245 16.57%

In a nutshell here are the rankings:


1st - Salle Orr
2nd - Wayne Smith
3rd - Kelly R. Zaugg
4th - Brent Strate
5th - Rick Westmoreland
6th - Michael Jacobazzi 


If Michael has any chance he will have to do a lot of work, honestly I am almost counting him out.  So right now it is Kelly's to lose he will need to keep his nose clean and watch out for negative attacks. Strate is close and Westmoreland is behind him; however Rick will have the most ground to make up and will need to bridge the gap between his regular constituents and branch out to new ones.  His campaigning will have to go the next level and be more than asking for donations on facebook.  Strate really hit the streets, probably did the most door to door out of anyone.  If he keeps that up he will pass Zaugg. I think some key endorsements would help, just depends on how much he is willing to spend to get out there.   Primary voters are way different than general election voters, and even worse during a municipal election.


More to come and comments welcome.

Thoughts about South Ogden Primary Candidates

With at least one seat up for grabs, because two will most likely land with the incumbents.  I have begun thinking about who deserves this last seat.  So lets talk about each candidate.

Sallee Orr - Personally like Sallee Orr.  She has had lots of guts to stand up for what she believes on the council.  The number of meetings I have attended I have seen her time and time again go against the grain.  Not to mention she has stood behind many great causes including a cross walk on Highway 89.

Wayne Smith - He has been a strong presence on the council as well and has brought a much needed connection to the public safety side of things.  He and I have spoken many times about the community and he will continue to do well.

As for the open seat, well I know very little about the other candidates but here is what I do know.

Rick Westmoreland - Previously endorsed by me when he ran for mayor.  This time he appears to be very busy and hasn't had much time for campaigning.  He created a facebook and twitter page to start communicating but he isn't an active user.  Rick's biggest issues will be directed toward public safety.  His profession makes him very knowledgeable in this area and could be an asset to the council.  However he hasn't really attended any council meetings since he was defeated for mayor and he is still bugged about South Ogden's traffic school policies.

Kelly Zaugg - Veteren South Ogden Police Officer.  Rumor has it, and I mean rumor, he just has a bone to pick with Chief Shupe and wants to take it out by running four council.  Who knows?

Brent Strate - Brent is a local school teacher and has been very active on the campaign circuit.  Personally I have been very impressed with Mr. Strate and his desire to run.  His number one concern is to improve efficiences, save money and potentially lower the cost of government for South Ogden.  Also he has been attending a number of council meetings, planning commission meetings and Urban Forestry commission meetings.

Mike Jacobazzi - No Clue - Feel free to post info

Marvin Sexton - No Clue - Feel free to post info

What I have found most interesting has been the main issues of this years candidates are exactly what I have been talking about on this blog for months.  Good luck to all and look for my endorsements as we get closer to the final election.

Comments welcome.

South Ogden Primary Election Tuesday

Hopefully you know this Tuesday begins the South Ogden Primary elections.  To help with your decisions I have decided to post a link to the Standard Examiner's profile of the candidates.  See Here: http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/08/31/s-ogden-council-candidates-tackle-crime-business

Essentially there are 7 candidates running for three seats.  One will be eliminated on Tuesday's election.  The candidates are:

• Sallee Orr - Incumbent
• Wayne Smith - Incumbent
• Rick Westmoreland
• Kelly Zaugg
• Mike Jacobazzi
• Brent Strate
• Marvin "Skip" Sexton

Good luck to all. - Endorsements to come as we get closer.  My prediction is Marvin Sexton will be eliminated.

Comments welcome.

And the winners are...

I spent the night at the South Ogden city office awaiting the results with many of the candidates. It was a tense evening as we waited nearly two hours for the final results. Many of the council members joked about the old way of doing it. Writing it up on a chalk board and manually tabulating the paper ballots. Sometimes they were there until midnight. It was a fun evening of jokes and laughter but underneath it all laid the tension of who would win.

The final votes came in about 10:30 and the winners are:

Jim Minster - 370 votes
Vicki Mattson - 275
John Bradley - 261
Rick Westmoreland - 194

There are over 100 provisional ballots left and they will be tabulated by the 22nd.

I am amazed at these numbers. The political clout and connections that Vicki and Jim have is impressive. I really expected John and Rick to be up at the top. In the end this has been an amazing primary campaign and will continue to be an even crazier general election.

Congrats to all who ran, it takes a lot of guts to get out there and run for office.

P.S. Vicki did talk to me about being nice to her on my blog and she cleared up any miscommunication. Thanks Vicki for that and great job.

Also, I think we beat the standard with our results and tweets, thanks to everyone who followed the updates.

Standard Examiner Mayoral Candidate Survey and Taxes

The Standard Examiner published a great survey of questions for our mayoral candidates. It is truly worth a read for those who are still debating on whom to vote for. You can read the full article here: http://www.standard.net/topics/news/2009/09/09/south-ogden-mayor

Each candidate was asked the following questions:

1. Where do you see the city in the next five years, and what would you do to make that future a good one?
2. What are some of the things you feel are of great concern to those you would serve?
3. South Ogden has partnered with the school district in the past year to build gym space for both the school and the city. Do you think it's a worthwhile venture to partner with other entities to fulfill the needs of your citizens?

Some of these questions were touched on during our "meet the candidate night", but in this forum the candidates have been able to expand on their answer a little further.

The topic I would like to highlight is question #2. It is directly related to #3 because of how each candidate answered the question.

I find John Bradley's answer to be very interesting. He states, "We cannot pay more taxes," and "...city officials should vote the way the majority of citizens want." I couldn't agree with this statement more. But then why did John Bradley vote to raise your taxes this year for a gym space the majority of us said we didn't want. Even the majority attending the meeting said they didn't want it or wouldn't use it. I sound like a broken record on this topic but see the following posts - (See Here and Here)

Vicki Mattson also notes in her answers, community members are troubled with their property taxes. Yet she voted to increase property taxes this year for this same gym space.

Jim Minster exclaims the economy is the biggest issue and we need to watch out for those on a fixed incomes. Well guess what, Jim voted to raise your taxes too.

Rick wasn't on the council, so he didn't vote for this tax increase. However he does recognize the worry we all have for increased taxes. He also recognize there was potentially not a true need for the gym in the first place.

I open the topic to you all to discuss the tax increase you all will be feeling when it comes time to elect a new mayor.

Who is BenJoe voting for South Ogden Mayor?

With all the campaign signs around, many people have asked why I haven't put a sign on my lawn yet. The reason is because I have not made a decision as to whom I am supporting for mayor. During this entire campaign, I have felt this has really been a two man race between John Bradley and Rick Westmoreland. They have the best credentials, education, and experience to hold the office of mayor.

I have studied the issues of both candidates. I have met both of them and heard them debate the issues of our fair city. This blog has chronicled my research of the topic through numerous blog posts. They both are extraordinary men who bring an amazing presence to the city. South Ogden is a better place because of who they are. However everyone must take a chance and choose whom they feel will be the best for the job and I am happy to say I have made my decision.

I am officially supporting Rick Westmoreland for Mayor. Rick's education, experience, work ethic and overall knowledge of the system has impressed me. His down to earth style and love for the city has won me over. Finally, his overwhelming desire to improve the lives of those around him has me sold.

I encourage you to vote for Rick Westmoreland for Mayor.

P.S. Rick also won our online poll for mayor with 84 percent of the vote.

Meet the Candidate Night – Mayoral Edition

Last night the Fire Department held their annual Meet the Candidate night at the new library in Washington Terrace/South Ogden. The crowd was one of the best I have seen at a political event for the area. Each candidate did their best and represented themselves as well as they could. However not all of them shined as bright as the others. Four mayoral candidates and three city council candidates were present to answer questions and meet the public. Since the Mayoral primary is coming up, we will focus only on the Mayoral section of the debate. I will save my city council portion for after the 15^th.

For your listening pleasure, I recorded the debate and I have divided it into sound bites that you can download and listen to. I have chosen my favorite and my least favorite answer for each question. I will give each candidate who has the best answer "1 Point" and the second place candidate will get "1/2 Point". The person with most points wins the night.

1. Introduction: All four candidates gave a two minute introduction. You can listen to it here: (Introduction)

• For best Introduction the point goes to John Bradley. He was clear and concise. He explained his experience and why he would be the best candidate. John has lots of experience in law and business and gave a great introduction. – 1 Point Bradley.
  
• Rick Westmoreland gave a similar introduction as to John's and played on the crowd with his volunteer work and more. He did a good job, but came up short to John's intro. – ½ Point
  
• Jim Minster talked about his service and time in the community. He did well, but not much energy in his remarks. Most of the time was spent on talking about his city council accomplishments; but remember the council is a group, not just one person.
  
• My bottom was Vicki Mattson. Like Mr. Minster all she talked about was all the city council things she has done and why those accomplishments make her a great mayor. I felt it was bland and not very appealing.

1. How will you enforce ordinances and zoning laws? You can listen to it here: (Zoning)

• For best answer I give it to Rick Westmoreland. With the experience he has as a prosecutor, he understands what is needed to prosecute an ordinance or zoning violation. He gave a solid argument for public involvement to help clean up areas. The main point is that the resources are not there to make it happen and the Mayor can bring the community together and help clean up these areas. – 1 point for Rick.
  
• John explained in full detail what the ordinances do and can't do. He seemed to know where the holes were in the system. This is something the council can improve on. The ordinances are old and need to be updated. He almost had me sold on his answer, but why haven't they already done this if they know the problem. – ½ point.
  
• Jim Minister said about the same as everyone else, but interestingly he seemed to have just noticed it was a problem since he decided to run.
  
• My least favorite answer was Vicki Mattson. Her answer was full of random statements. She claimed this was the number one problem she hears and has been addressing the problem for awhile but it is still getting worse. She says the solution is to form committees to find out what to do. In addition, she stated that we shouldn't police people and then turned around and said we should tighten ordinances so they can be enforced. I was confused in the end.

1. What do you want your legacy to be? You can listen to it here: (Legacy)

• The best answer to the legacy question goes to Vicki Mattson. She hit it on the head of what public service is all about. She hopes to be fair and honest. But in the end she recognized the decisions you make will affect the whole community; therefore your decisions can't just be for the good of the one. Instead it needs to be for what will make the whole community better. Great Answer Vicki – 1 point.
  
• Rick Westmoreland had my second favorite answer, but I wish he would have spent more time going into more specific details. In the end I felt he truly wants to be remembered as a man of integrity. ½ Point
  
• John was close in my book on this, but in the end I felt he had little confidence he would be remembered (even if it was a joke). I think he would be surprised how much people remember.
  
• Jim Minster was last for this question. He talked a lot about being the guy who listens and helps people get stuff done. He had little energy in what he was saying and I felt it wasn't much of an answer.

1. Traffic – Are you willing to negotiate with UDOT? You can listen to it here: (traffic)

• Rick Westmoreland wins it for me on this, mainly because he appears understand more fully the system of UDOT and how to work with them. Negotiations will need to not just be with UDOT but with our legislators who have authority over UDOT. I liked his creative solution to the problem. 1 Point
  
• John almost took Rick on this one. He is trained in negotiations and knows how to work with these types of people. My reasoning is simply track record. I have seen Council Member Sallee Orr practically take this issue on her by herself and if John is so good at it, why hasn't more been done already. ½ point
  
• Vicki is on the DOT committee and has been working to make something happen. Is she willing to do this, yes, has she been successful no.
  
• I am sorry to say Jim's was my least favorite. In reality he didn't answer the question at all and his only solution was to start a letter writing campaign. Not a great answer.

1. How are you in Personnel Management and Financial Planning? You can listen to it here: (Management)

• Jim Minster takes the prize for this one. He explained his experience of managing departments, companies, and has time as a fire chief. He has dealt with many personnel issues and kept things under cost and on a budget. Great job on this. Can he apply these skills to a corporation the size of South Ogden, that remains to be seen, but he did a great job answering the question. 1 point.
  
• John Bradley has managed a staff of people and worked with all sorts of personnel situations. In addition he has started his own business with his wife, but no real formal training in fiscal policy. It was close between him and Jim. ½ point.
  
• Rick Westmoreland was my number three on this. If had a little more financial experience he may have moved up;. Not much management or financial experience in his answer; however he has started his own business and has worked on budgets in his office. Not enough for points though.
  
• Vicki didn't make it happen for me on this one. Though she has good management experience with Albertsons, I just can't feel her management skills. On the fiscal side she stated the city foresaw the decline in our economy a couple of years ago. Well I want to know where she got her crystal ball, because everyone else in the world missed this one. South Ogden City has been in the red most of this year and didn't make budget cuts until the economy was in full recession. We had surplus money as early as last year and didn't spend it pay down debt of fix the budget. She was wrong on this issue. (See these posts from city council meetings for more info, )

1. What are your top Priorities for the City? You can listen to it here: (priorities)

• Rick Westmoreland gets the point. His number one priority would be to increase revenue sources for South Ogden. Not just bringing in new business, but to go after grants and federal money. According to Rick, on our budget we have no federal grant money coming in for public safety. There is $4.2 Million available ready for the taking, he would be the guy to go get it. His last priority was more accountability in Government which is a huge issue for me. – 1 point
  
• John Bradley almost won this for me. He had a great list of things that make sense. Commercial development, public safety, planning and zoning, public works and finally recreation. But Rick's solutions were very creative and exciting. – ½ point
  
• Jim Minster had two good points, one we need work on the economy and two bringing in new businesses. His points were valid but not much backing it up. How is he going to fix the economy? Jim mentioned cutting more budgets, but not cutting services. That is hard to do, especially since we have cut the budget already 12 percent.
  
• Vick didn't answer this question well. She seemed to be all over the place and talked about current business owners as her top priority, then safety, followed by public works. It didn't seem she had any real list of priorities or solutions for South Ogden. Wasn't a good answer.

1. How would you revitalize 40^th Street north and rental properties? You can listen to it here: (40th)

• John Bradley wins this one. He had some great ideas of creating new zones and incentives to encourage people to improve their areas. This would include grants and funds to encourage people to move into the area and build up those homes. He made an interesting statement that we need to increase incentives; so homes on streets like Raymond Ave can be beautiful and make people want to move there. (Um…I live on Raymond). In addition people need to help each other and police each other. – 1 point
  
• Rick Westmoreland stressed public safety. Those areas have become un-desirable because of crime and other issues. We need to increase funds to enforce codes and laws to help these areas become cleaned up. We need to be willing to invest extra time and money to make those areas beautiful. ½ point
  
• Vicki Mattson spent most of her time talking about down town and how she would like to see more business coming to South Ogden. She recognized the new Mercantile and how wonderful it is. Interestingly she mentioned the city was going to start doing low interest loans for housing. I wonder that money is coming from or if I have to pay for it? Vicki was coming up with lots of ideas like new condos, etc. I don't feel she fully answered the question. She should have talked about her Good Landlord law idea.
  
• My last place answer will be Jim Minster's. Jim actually spent his whole time talking about the elderly on country club drive. His point is taken, but he didn't fully answer the question.

1. Is our Sewer system adequate and what can we do to improve it? You can listen to it here: (Sewer)

• John Bradley did the best with this question. He had full knowledge of what has happening, solutions to fix it and ideas to improve it. In reality this is a softball question. John had great inside info to help him answer it and articulated himself well. Good job. – 1 Point.
  
• Rick dropped it on this one. In the end he began to explain great ways to fund such a problem, but he himself didn't seem full convinced this was an immediate issue. I wish he would have spent more time on how he would avoid raising our taxes and how he would fund these programs. His answer was good, but not good enough for full points. – ½ point.
  
• I am not really sure what Jim was talking about at the first, but then he just told us what we already know. I kind of feel like he was just copying whatever John said. It was kind of a Paula Abdul Idol moment.
  
• Vicki Mattson missed it for me in the end. She did a good job identifying the funding problems we have to improve our sewer system; however she seems to be under the impressions that we have received so many grants that we have been able to update almost the whole cities infrastructure. After listening to this one about five times, I am still not sure if she answered the question.

1. Closing Remarks. You can listen to it here: (Closing)

• Rick Westmoreland had the best closing remarks. He gave a full explanation of what the Mayor's office does and how he would make it work. I liked his understanding of the different branches of government and where the Mayor's role is in this system. His goal is to motivate and encourage this city to continue to grow. I was impressed with this final remarks and his passion for South Ogden. – 1 Point.
  
• Vicki summed up her understanding of the Mayoral role and how she would fill that. She made a little potshot at one of Rick's comments and in turn repeated a couple of things Rick said. But overall she represented herself very well and her knowledge of the job. – ½ point
  
• Jim Minster summed up a lot of what he said throughout the night and gave his pledge of love to South Ogden. Nice statements but nothing to remember.
  
• John took a huge hit at Rick in his closing statement. He began by saying the same things Rick did, but in some ways it may have been better articulated. He then made specific potshots at some of Rick's comments and how he knows the most about government. But the part that killed it for me is when he talked about how he was the most well balanced person. He mentioned he was a business owner, involved in community and active in church. Once he started playing the church card and engaged in a character debate over who was the better individual in the room—I lost him.

Final Score:

• Rick – 6 points – He won 4 of the debate questions in my book. - WINNER
  
• John – 5 points – He won 2 of the debate questions.
  
• Vicki – 1 ½ points – She won 1 of the debate questions.
  
• Jim – 1 point – He won 1 of the debate questions.
  

The forum is open for you all to debate on my interpretation of the night, please feel free to comment.

Candidates on Twitter, Facebook and the Web

In connection with today's Standard Examiner editorial on twitter (See Here), I am excited to see many of the candidates for Mayor making attempts to use Twitter and the Web. South Ogden City has been tweeting for about a month now. However they are missing the boat on its usefulness. They have about 22 followers last I checked, but they have refused to follow anyone back. I think people forget that communication is a two way street. If you want twitter, blogging, facebook, etc to be useful you have to communicate with the people not just announce things. Talk to the people of South Ogden.

Follow South Ogden here: Http://www.twiter.com/SouthOgdenCity

As for our Mayoral Candidates here is what I have found as far as websites, facebook and twitter:

Jim Minster:

• Website: http://jimminster4mayor.com/index.html - This is a flashy and smooth website. Simple text format and tons of good information. He really put a lot of time into it. Interestingly almost every sentence starts with "I".
  
• Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/jfminster>has 3 followers and is following 1 person. He has a few updates.
  
• Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/jfminster has a few updates on there and about 90 friends.
• Congrats to Jim for starting all of these, but now he needs to use them.

Vicki Mattson:

• Website: no website found (yet)
  
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/vmattsoncouncil yet she has no updates yet.
  
• Facebook: no facebook profile found (yet)
  

Rick Westmoreland:

• Website: http://rick4mayor.com/ -- A little simpler of a website, with lots of options to donate, call, setup meetings, etc. I like his FAQ page as well and he has tons of good info. Not too bad of a website. Content is better than Jim's but Jim's is more appealing to the eye.
  
• Twitter: Update: He is now on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rtwestmoreland
  
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rick-T-Westmoreland-for-Mayor-2009-South-Ogden-City/105684402908
  

John Bradley:

• Website: http://www.southogdenmayor.com/ - Thanks to Reader Michael Booth. I find the fact that he names his site southogdenmayor a little pretentious. Plus it isn't much of a site. He does say he will fight to not raise taxes (but he did raise taxes while on the council).
• Twitter: None
  
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1708160326 (I think)
  

I am surprised more candidates are not embracing all of these tools, they are FREE! If I have missed any of their websites please let me know and I will update this page. But from looking at their signs and google searches I can't find anything. If your website doesn't come up on google, how will people find you?

Congrats to those who are trying to actually communicate with the people.

Rick Westmoreland for Mayor of South Ogden

At least that is what Rick is hoping. Though I have not decided who I am supporting for South Ogden Mayor, I am very impressed with Mr. Westmoreland and his current endeavor to become mayor. Let's be honest, he is the underdog in this race. He is going against three city council members whom have name recognition and know how to run a campaign in South Ogden. I am not saying Rick is not known in the community—because he is. But Rick has a charm about him that makes you feel comfortable. As a Davis County Prosecutor he has the knowledge of public safety, law, grant writing, and more. All of these skills would make a fine mayor in South Ogden.

Rick began emailing me about 3 weeks ago and we finally were able to sit down and get to know each other. He spent about 30 minutes in my living room discussing the issues of South Ogden and how we can improve them. In the end, we both agreed South Ogden is an amazing place to live. Now it is time to just refine what we have.

I am always amazed as to why people choose to run for public office. So of course my first question was why he was running for mayor. He admitted his initial reason was silly; however maybe a simple concern, it makes sense why he wants to get involved. He is concerned with our local police department and their decision to give you a form to attend traffic school instead of a citation. His reasoning is this is an illegal procedure and we need to be issued the citation first, and then negotiate taking traffic school with the judge or the prosecutor (I am sure this is a poorly paraphrased form of Rick's explanation). As mayor, he would look for ways to improve such issues that may be incorrect or illegal. With his experience as a prosecutor he would push for more federal grants and programs to help reduce costs and improve quality of life in South Ogden without a tax increase. Don't forget the city council raised your property taxes this year. (See Here)

One of my greatest concerns with our current local government is lack of communication and accountability. During the past year I have emailed and made attempts to communicate with my local city officials on a number of things. Mayor Garwood's, Councilmember Smith and Orr are the only ones who even make attempts to communicate back. Bradley responded only once to my emails, when I called him out on his miss-information in the city newsletter. (See Here) But all other emails have gone unanswered. My own Legislator responds to phone calls and emails faster than Minster and Mattson and he receives hundreds of emails a day. It appears some of our council is used to people not attending meetings and expects issues to fade away quickly; therefore it is best to just keep silent. So to have Rick Westmorland go out of his way to communicate with me was impressive. He spent the previous weekend walking the streets with Nate Frost (Son of our former mayor Brent Frost) and his presence is become more and more visible.

Overall it was an amazing meeting with Mr. Westmorland and I wish him luck. As for who I am supporting, I am still undecided but the more info we can gather on this issue the better. Look for more posts soon on the upcoming election.

Rick Westmorland can be contacted at the following:

http://rick4mayor.com/

Facebook

Email: rickformayor2009@gmail.com

Who has filed for city council?

The Standard Examiner has compiled a list of who is running for the city council offices in South Ogden. As usual we will be preparing a full profile of each candidate to help all of us decide on who will be best. Of course each profile will be mingled with my own opinion of the candidate.

As predicted, Mayor Garwood will not be running for mayor this year and Vicki Mattson, John Bradley and Jim Minster are all going to be running for the big chair. You can see my last post here (See Here)

As for new comers the following are also running:

• Rick Westmoreland - Mayoral Candidate
• Russ Porter - Council
• Lamont Camp - Council
• Bryan Benard - Council

I know a couple of these candidates; so it will be fun to see how this race plays out. Only 2 seats are open for election this year. If you have any info, ideas or comments please post them or email me directly.

Let the games begin.