USU researcher running for Providence city council

It has been a dirty campaign in Providence, and after being compared to Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shiekh Mohammed and having her past falsified by critics, city council candidate Linda Goetze said she is ready for people to focus on issues that really matter.

Goetze, a senior research scientist and economist at USU for the Center for Persons with Disabilities, said she wishes everyone would concentrate on the problems currently facing the residents of Providence and not create trouble for them and the city council candidates.

“I don’t want anymore personal attacks,” she said. “I want to stick to the issues of traffic, water and what the community is going to look like. I don’t want personal criticism, and I don’t want to waste time. I try to keep lighthearted, but sometimes it hurts.”

Even with the campaign slogan “She Listens,” Goetze hopes people can ignore the talk generated by her critics and those of other city council candidates. As she has been canvassing the neighborhoods of Providence, Goetze said it seems some voters have been able to put the criticism aside and seriously talk about issues including the city’s growth, water, public safety and traffic.

If elected, Goetze, a 24-year resident of Providence, said she would like to see better control of the area’s growth. She said with 40 percent of all homes in Providence built in the last six years, the city council must seriously consider the effects of such rapid growth.

“The city needs to just take a breath to determine the effects of such fast growth and how to handle the growth rate,” Goetze said.

She said the effects are great, including the city’s budget, water, infrastructure, transportation and public safety.

The inhabitants for every new house that is built increase traffic 10 to 15 trips a day, Goetze said. As a result of more congestion, drivers choose to travel on back roads that are not built to support such traffic.

She said she has been attending city council and planning commission meetings in Providence for more than 20 years and would like to see other citizens doing more of the same.

She also said as a council member, she wants to make it easier for Providence residents to participate in council activities and offer their suggestions. To fill out an application to suggest a city ordinance, there is a $50 fee. Goetze said this fee must be lowered or completely eliminated. She said such a large fee prevents many citizens from making their voices heard and participating in the political process. She said she wants that to change.

While Goetze has many ideas for the city, she said it is important to ask for citizen input and then act upon it. She said she realizes the challenge in getting everyone what they want, but she said she believes compromises can be made.

“Making life better in some cases is really easy and in some cases it is really hard because someone wants one thing and someone else wants another. It is that overlap that is so hard,” she said.

Goetze said her work at USU as an economist and researcher would prove to be invaluable as a member of the city council. As a member of the Providence Heritage Committee, she has had experience drafting ordinances and getting them passed which, she said, will also be beneficial to her as a council member.

Goetze said she is not nervous about the upcoming election, believing her work experience and past involvement with Providence issues give her an edge.

There are three open seats on the Providence City Council with six candidates on the ballot. The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 6.