COLUMN: Petersen is our man in Logan mayor race
From the left
Briana Bowen
I trekked down to the Logan city offices yesterday morning to make a tough decision. In fact, I was delighted with how tough the decision was – because the decision was choosing between two extraordinarily qualified, smart, dedicated candidates who want to serve as the mayor of Logan: incumbent mayor Randy Watts and challenger Craig Petersen.
Public service – especially elected public service – isn’t always an enviable job. It takes a genuine sense of commitment to a community to decide to run for local office, because the time and effort that the eventual winner will invest in the city and its citizens won’t be nearly commensurate to the remuneration received. As such, it’s a pleasure to encounter an electoral race in which I genuinely believe that either contender would serve the people well.
But while I think that both candidates are up to the task of governing Logan, I do hold a clear preference for the gentleman who I believe will be most dynamic, forward-thinking and Aggie-friendly candidate: Petersen. Himself an Aggie alumnus, Petersen returned to Cache Valley after completing his Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University to join the faculty in the Huntsman School of Business as a professor of economics and finance.
It would be hard to find a discipline more relevant to city governance than Petersen’s. During his tenure at USU, Petersen taught courses dealing with local government finance, the interaction of business and government and the fundamentals of American government. Petersen’s academic and professional training make him uniquely qualified to oversee the city’s finances and allocate resources wisely.
Petersen’s administration and leadership credentials are bolstered by his track record in USU senior administration for over 16 years – during which time he served as interim provost, vice provost and chief of staff to the president. Petersen is clearly an accomplished and invested member of the Aggie community, and I believe he can be expected to maintain the highest level of cooperation between Logan City and USU.
Furthermore, Petersen is an experienced public servant and an expert in issues affecting not only Logan but the greater Cache Valley community, having served on the Cache County Council for eighteen years – and having been elected chair of that body four times. Peterson presents himself as a forward-thinking visionary – one who will be willing to make investments in our community to expand economic growth, encourage cultural diversity and secure the future of USU.
Because I believe him to be extraordinarily qualified, experienced and attuned to the needs of the Aggie community, as well as the greater Logan and Cache communities, I am proud to endorse Petersen for Logan city mayor.
Whomever you decide to support, I strongly encourage you to take the time to vote today. The office of Logan city mayor has a real impact on USU students and faculty. It is our job to take our civic responsibility seriously and make our voices heard in this election.
– Briana is a senior majoring in political science and president of the USU Democrats. She is an avid road cyclist and a 2013 Truman Scholar. Comments can be sent to Briana at b.bowen@aggiemail.usu.edu.
From the right
Andy Pierucci
Craig Petersen is the best man for the job. He will bring 18 years of service to city hall of service as a member of the Cache County Council, four of which were spent as the chair of the council. In addition to his years of public service in the community, he spent 16 years as a senior administrator and 22 years as a professor of economics at USU. Many students, myself included, who took his ECON 1500 course, benefited from his impressive knowledge on the subject matter and engaging teaching style.
In an act of bipartisanship, my counterpart, Briana Bowen, and I endorse Petersen. Municipal elections are non-partisan, but the issues facing Logan are still of great importance. City hall would benefit greatly from a change in mayor. Randy Watts has done a good job as mayor, but it is time for Logan to go in a different direction. Petersen is kind and approachable.
His disarming personality will be a refreshing change for Logan. It is easy for the city government to ignore the concerns of students at USU, because many of us do not vote or participate in city government. Under Petersen, this will change. He plans on opening up city hall to USU students. There will be opportunities for internships, and other extracurricular learning experiences.
Due to his career at USU, Petersen will prove to be a sympathetic advocate for the needs and concerns of the student body.
With his background in economics, Petersen will be especially beneficial for Logan’s economy. As mayor, he will make Logan more business-friendly by revising city policies and procedures to ease the burdens upon businesses. In an effort to make the city government more citizen friendly, he will implement a system that will route all complaints through the mayors’ office.
Petersen has a long record of environmental awareness. As a member of the Cache County Council, he wrote the emissions testing legislation that will soon go into effect. As mayor, he will work to make Logan city a better steward of the environment through a number of ways. He will work to improve air quality by reducing the miles driven by city owned vehicles during the winter inversion. He will expand trail systems in Logan, making trails more accessible to hikers and bicyclists.
However the election turns out, Logan will be just fine. Both Petersen and Watts are good men, and they can both do a good job serving this city as mayor. This election is about the direction the city will take. It’s a choice between the status quo of Watts’ administration and the fresh new look that will come with Petersen’s administration. It is my hope that the residents of Logan will vote Petersen for mayor.
– Andy is a junior majoring in Political Science. He is the secretary of the Utah Federation of College Republicans, a member of the Government Relations Council, and a former news writer for the Statesman.