Val Elwell

Val Elwell grew up in Texas and attended Bishop College and Prairie View A&M, both in Texas. He did graduate work at schools including the U.S. Army War College, Harvard University of Oklahoma and the Air Force Institute of Technology. He followed his oldest son to Logan, and after the death of his son, he decided to stay.

Utah Statesman: If you are elected, how will you improve Logan?

Elwell: Primarily, I would want to improve Logan by paying down the debt that we are in right now and trying to reach countywide government.

Statesman: How will your decisions affect university students?

Elwell: University students are citizens just like everyone else, so the decisions that are made on the council and in the city affect university students as they do everybody else. One of things (we need to look at carefully) is parking and this booting nonsense.

Statesman: What do you feel are the important issues in this year’s election?

Elwell: The debt and traffic. Mostly the debt, they’re spending us into oblivion.

Statesman: What kind of experience do you have to bring to this position?

Elwell: I have the background, experience and training to analyze the things that are coming before the council to a degree that very few have. I have managed budgets, I have created budgets, I have been a contracting officer, I’ve been a project manager, I’ve been a cost analyst, I’ve been a price analyst. So my background, experience and training provide me very well with the knowledge to function effectively as a member of the council.

Statesman: Why are you running for City Council?

Elwell: I have been complaining since I’ve been here about how it’s run, and I decided it was time to give it a go to see if I could do it better.

Statesman: If you had been on the council at the time, how would you have voted in regard to the Intermountain Power Plant 3 Program?

Elwell: I would have voted for it, because we had not examined the alternatives and assured that there was reliable energy available before we voted it down.

Statesman: How will you address Logan’s air quality problem?

Elwell: Forget it. There’s no big barrier up there that keeps pollution from Franklin County and everywhere else from coming into Logan. So don’t kid yourself that Logan alone can do anything – other than heckle some people about getting a handle on automobile emissions – seriously about air quality. We don’t own the air. I do think the automobile emissions (testing) is a good idea. If you go beyond that, you’re going to have to look towards Idaho, the surrounding areas, and enlist their cooperation.