Erin Bennett

What makes you stand out from other candidates and why should people vote for you?

Well, I actually have a plan of action to make a change. I mean, the plan of action is just based on all of the business tools that we learn and all of our business books and all of our business programs. Like, for example, I don’t know if you’re aware, but city councilors have absolutely no training. We allow them to make decisions with our finite resources with absolutely no training — that doesn’t make any sense at all, so implementing just a training program with city councilors. Do some like basic training as well as leadership training, teach them how to do their job, maybe some communication skills, you know, some listening skills, also culture building tools, like I mentioned. And then another thing I’m really passionate about is community empowerment. So we have a lot of problems in our community, but we have a lot of groups who are concerned about those problems and have solutions. So really, all they have to do is just empower those people and help get connect them to the resources they need to do all the wonderful things they want to do. 

Why should students care about who is on city council?

Well, first of all, you guys have to be here longer than anyone else, longer than me. Another part of my platform is I feel like we should design a decision matrix and, for example, identify all the stakeholders, and then each data point on that matrix can carry weight. So people in your age group should carry more weight than people in my age group or definitely boomers because you’re going to live here longer. I feel like city councilors should be making decisions in the best interest of you and even your children as opposed to them and their friends. 

What advice do you have for college students?

I’m middle-aged now, and if I had one thing that I was going to say to 20-something-year-old me, I would say, “Don’t worry so much. Everything’s going to work out. Everything’s going to be fine.” 

What will you do for students as a member of the city council?

I think the first step is to identify their needs. I’m not certain that the city council is aware that you guys even exist, let alone are they even aware of your needs. So, the first step would be to reach out to students and student organizations and ask you, “What I can do to help you?” Of course, I don’t know, you guys are probably well organized and doing a fine job governing yourself, so I don’t need to come in and try to overstep my bounds. Connecting with community groups, I think, is a really important step, including students. 

What is one of the most important political topics students should be engaged with?

I think the equality. I really do think equality, especially in our community, equality is the most important factor, and it’s the most at risk right now. Some pretty terrible things are happening. The Constitution of the United States, I don’t think a lot of people understand that it’s law. I think people think that it’s like some kind of religious document or something, and so they think that if they’re violating our civil rights and violating the Constitution, they’re sinning, but they’re committing crime against residents, and we’re paying them. So we’re paying, you know, like our — the criminal justice system in Cache County to violate our civil rights and victimize residents. It’s insane. 

What is your favorite restaurant in Logan?

Beehive Grill. I have some dietary restrictions, and I know I can always eat something on that menu, and they have some really good salads. 

What is your favorite restaurant in Logan?

I think it’s probably my kids’ costumes. I used to dress them up in the cutest little outfits, and we would make them ourselves. My favorite one was when my son was a Lego one year, and we just used a box and painted it blue and then used solo cups for the little pegs. That was really easy.