In Depth: A Closer Look at the Issues
On Nov. 8, registered voters all over Cache Valley will be able to go to the polls and elect mayors and city councilors to represent them and run their cities for the next four years.
In Logan, two city council seats are being contested with their incumbents running for re-election. Logan City will also elect a new mayor since current two-term mayor Doug Thompson decided not to run again.
Primary elections were held on Oct. 4 and the races were whittled down to two candidates for each elected spot. Because most students live in Logan and campus is located within the city limits, the Logan City election is an important part of what will happen with the University as half of the city government could turn over and be run by new officials.
Voter Participation
For some, the rate of voter participation is quite a shock; since ASUSU President Quinn Millet said more people voted for him in the final student body elections last year than voted for the top vote-getter for mayor in the Logan City Primary Election of Oct. 4 – 1,619-1,325.
The primaries of a municipal election and the final student body elections are two different situations altogether, yet the point can be made that Utah State University students could heft a large amount of influence if they participated in even average numbers.
“If we got together, [the students] could elect the next mayor of Logan,” Millet said.
In the precincts where the majority of Utah State students reside, according to the Cache County Clerk’s Office, the average voter turnout was about 6 percent.
Of the 10,207 registered voters in those precincts, 611 voted in the primary election. Granted, not all students live in those precincts and not all students are registered to vote at their address here in Cache Valley, but there are enough students that can participate in the election to make a difference in the final tally.
The 2001 election for Logan City mayor saw 6,856 voters participate and the winner, Doug Thompson, received 4,794 votes.
In a sense, if 50 percent of college students who are registered in Logan City, went to the polls and all voted for the same candidate, they would be able to choose who would run the city for the next four years. Still, some say the main problem with that logic is that no group of 5,000 people would ever vote for the same person because of differing opinions on the candidates.
Air Quality, Housing and Booting
These issues may influence opinions and the six candidates have some of the same ideas, but they all differ in some respect.
Air quality is a hot topic and the Logan City Council the past few meetings has taken steps to make Logan a bicycle-friendly community. What else can be done to clean up Logan and the valley’s air?
“Technology is going to solve it,” Logan mayoral candidate Peter Brunson said. “But everyone needs to do the least amount they can when it comes to energy and gas.”
The other five Logan candidates spoke on how each individual is needed to reduce the amount of exhaust during inversion. Anyone can help, whether it is through the number of errands run or the number of times they take the bus system instead of driving.
Another student-related issue is the rule limiting a house to three unrelated persons in the single family zones around Logan.
Tom Kerr and Brunson said the housing zoning issue should be determined by citizen’s input on the master plan and through their input, the zones will change when they are needed to.
“That’s how nature works,” Kerr said. “Things change from old houses to apartments.”
Steve Thompson, Tami Pyfer and Randy Watts said they would better enforce the zoning ordinances to keep landlords from renting to more than the required number of residents and also to have them better inform students about the zoning laws in that area of town.
Paul Morgan, candidate for Logan City Council seat four, said the zoning laws are about finding the right balance between single and multi-family zones. It is basically a compromise between the renter and the owner, he said, adding there isn’t a lot to do concerning the zoning.
Booting seems to always been in the limelight when it comes to discussions about Logan City and its effect on college students. Watts said he is working with Millet to try to figure out how to make the city ordinance more fair.
Specifics were missing, though, as Millet said they are still looking at possible ways to enforce parking without the unfairness of booting.
Campus Involvement
In elections past, ASUSU has sponsored candidate forums where the different city council and mayoral candidates were able to conduct a discussion with students on campus. No such plans have been made yet with the election being held Nov. 8.
A mayoral forum was planned, but the TSC Patio was double booked and the two mayoral candidates Brunson and Watts said they didn’t know what was going on and finally decided t o leave.
ASUSU Executive Vice President Nate Putnam didn’t return calls about the mayoral forum or any other plans to host candidates on campus.
Pyfer, the incumbent Logan City councilor for seat five, spoke to the College Republicans while Morgan, a city council candidate for seat four, has spoken to some students on campus, but it wasn’t part of an organized club or meeting.
Many candidates said they would like to spend time on campus, but they didn’t have the contacts to get something set up.
“If anyone wants me to come, I’d be delighted to,” Logan City Council seat five candidate Kerr said.
Without a forum many of the candidates don’t have many other plans or means of getting the word out to college students about their campaigns. Seat four incumbent Thompson said he will have a table staffed by volunteers on campus but he will focus his efforts in the higher turnout precincts.
Thompson, along with every other candidate, said he was open to having a forum and talking with students if the opportunity was presented.
-krn@cc.usu.edu