Joe Needham
What makes you stand out from other candidates and why should people vote for you?
My name is Joe Needham, and I’m a local of Logan. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve actually, at least, there’s quite a few things, but I do have a lot of years of service in the community, and I’ve always put Logan’s needs as a priority my life. I live on the West side; I actually live in a renovated warehouse, so a very unique place to live. But I was elected to the city council for the first time when I was 27 years old. I was a young man, served a term, made a lot of difference, made a lot of great things come about and it was a great experience — but I have been off the council for a while, and I just feel it’s time to come back to because I see a lot of needs that aren’t being attended to. And you know, from trail system systems to connectivity, a lot of our essential areas are struggling, transferring into apartments and other issues, and so I believe in the city and keep the quality high.
Why should students care about who is on city council?
In any of our cities we live in, your local city councils really are the ones who make the biggest difference and impact our lives the most, and so having someone there who can represent you, also someone who’s willing to work hard and listen, and to do the things that will matter most — and when it comes to Utah State, I’m a big supporter of it. But our trail systems are lacking, and we need more trail systems that link up here to Utah State and into the residents around this area, and so that’s one thing with Utah State. But back on the council, we were actually the council that approved all the housing units you’ve watched go up and that was a long time ago, we made those approvals happen. But Utah State is the lifeblood of Cache Valley, and so I think as any political leader, they should understand that what they do that helps Utah State helps the residents.
What advice do you have for college students?
Graduate, get your degree is the key that unlocks the door to success. But I guess in a city aspect, I think if you’re here to stay, if Logan’s your home, the advice I have is enjoy it. If you’re here just visiting for a couple years, that we welcome you and we feel you’re part of our house and, you know, we want it to be a great experience. I was once the president of Downtown Alliance, and we have been improving downtown to be a place that’s hip and fun. And you know, some advice I have is to have a great time while you’re here.
What will you do for students as a member of the city council?
Our trail systems need to be enhanced. They do lack — if you actually are familiar with the trail directory or by the country club, you can actually go up there, but it does not connect to the Lundstrom Park Trail. That connection needs to happen. It’s been quite a few years that has been done, and it’s amazing they haven’t able to make that connection. But there’s some trails just below that need to be — just below campus — that need to be enhanced and improved. Let’s see, other things — parking has always been an issue, but there’s things we can do and also, well, again, our council, when I was there a long time ago, we were once — we made a lot more housing come in, and you know you’ve got high density housing throughout around campus that is allowed, and so I think it’s great because students can live close to campus, and have affordable housing is the goal. And that’s one thing that Logan keeps doing is adding more apartments and more options for housing.
What is one of the most important political topics students should be engaged with?
First off, vote! I mean, the most — the greatest right we all have as American citizens is we have the right to vote. And it’s unfortunate that some people don’t take that as an opportunity or realize that their vote matters, and so I think that’s one of the greatest engagements one can have. But their service in the community, just recently on the Day of Service, I was involved in a group where we organized a bunch of service projects throughout Logan, and we had over 300 students, mostly married students, but we had 300 students paint the fence around the cemetery. And I think getting engaged in our community is one of the best things we can do, so I just say get engaged in any way you can.
What is your favorite restaurant in Logan?
I have a lot of favorites, hard to pick, but between Cafe Sabor and Beehive Grill — boy, they’re both pretty amazing. Beehive Grill is always crowded; their food is great. Jack’s Firehouse Pizza — you know what? That’s too hard to say; they’re all good, high in quality.
What is your favorite Halloween costume you’ve ever dressed up as?
Every single year, my family, we always pick a theme and go with it — I’m shocked my children are willing to go along with it, but they are. But this year we are — I guess I’ll be Gaston, so I don’t know if I have the muscles for that, but I’ll be Gaston, my whole family is from that great show, and so I think one of my kids is the broomstick, one the candlestick (or the candle guy, I don’t know their names), but this year will be a good one. We’ve done Star Wars, Ghostbusters, just anything cool. It’s hard to pick a great year, but they’re all fun.