Cache County Council candidate: Sandi Goodlander
Q: What makes you stand out from other candidates?
A: Well, in my race, I happen to be the only candidate. So I’m really fortunate that no one filed, turned against me, but I would say I have spent a lot of time working. I did four and a half years on the Planning and Zoning Commission. And that taught me a lot about how government works. And then I was able to meet a lot of people, and I feel like I am in a position to make influences on the County Council.
I didn’t go to college until I was in my 50s. I graduated from Utah State with a degree in political science, and so politics has always been interesting to me. And while I was attending school as a senior, I signed up to do an internship, and I did an internship with Senator Lyle Hillyard at the Utah State Legislature. That was kind of— so I had the education and the experience to just be interested in and just to know the issues in Utah and the Cache County specifically. And so I’m really happy that I will have the opportunity to serve the people in my community, and in my district, on the county council.
Q: If you’re not elected, how will you still be involved and still serve the community?
A: I was very involved with the Cache County Republican Party. I have been. I’ve been on the State Central Committee. I was — I’m on the board of Cache County Republican Women. I’ve been on the executive committee, and I stepped back from those things to be a candidate. But if for some reason I didn’t win, I would still be involved in community organizations; we’re very involved in the Chamber of Commerce. Some of the CAPSA and some of the other organizations that try and make things better in Cache Valley are still really much a part of who I am and what I would continue to do whether it was elected or not.
Q: What do you think is the most important responsibility of this position and how will you do your best to manage that position?
A: That’s a great question. I feel like as a county council member, our number one responsibility is to manage the tax dollars that we have been entrusted with and to manage the budget. And so to me, that’s number one, is making decisions that are fiscally responsible. You know, if you had unlimited funds, you could do so many wonderful things for the community. But at some point there, you just can’t take more people’s money. We have to be responsible with the tax dollars that we do have, what are the best things that can do — what are the most pressing needs? And so that’s probably number one, I think is managing those funds and hearing Cache Valley, probably one of the biggest issues that it’s facing us is growth. Growth has come so quickly and housing prices are so expensive, and you know, there’s low unemployment. So there’s a lot of jobs available, but there isn’t always places for people to live that they can afford, and so those issues will be top of mind for me. And what can we realistically do as a county council to help those things within the constraints of the budget that we have?
Q: What do you hope to change or accomplish if you’re elected?
A: I just hope that I can be a person who governs with kindness and with the ability to listen to everybody and to both sides. I think that that’s kind of one of my strengths that I will be able to do that, and I don’t know, I think the county is very well managed as far as things that I would do differently. I just think mostly educating myself and listening, and I’m really looking forward to being a part of the council that’s there. I think there’s some really great people, and I think that it’s a real privilege to be able to serve, especially the people in my district.
Q: If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Oh my gosh, brownies. I love baked brownies or donuts. That’s just what comes off the top of my head.
-Jenny.Carpenter@usu.edu
Featured submitted by Sandi Goodlander