Endorsements for Lehi City Council

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The Daily Herald had an editorial today on what to look for in a candidate. I liked the criteria they listed:

Candidates to be wary of:

• • Have that “deer in the headlights look”
  • Spout too many cliches
  • Have too much experience – What worked in 1987 or even 1997 might be as outmoded as a Betamax video tape player today.
  • Have no backbone
  • Worry you now

They gave a good example of the “no backbone” criteria:

One test we find interesting is Referendum 1. School vouchers are not a municipal issue, of course, but at one forum recently, city council aspirants were asked to stand or sit to show where they stood on vouchers. A couple of candidates responded by neither standing or sitting, but by going into a sort of crouch. That sort of response worries us.

Look for hopefuls who:

• • Know their stuff
  • Acknowledge difficulties
  • Plan for progress
  • Work well with others
  • Accept change

I would add one more criteria for those who are interested enough to get involved in the political process early. A candidate should be responsive to voters.

I have been meaning to list my endorsements for Lehi City Council and I think that fits well at the end of this criteria. We have 3 incumbents and 3 new candidates for city council. They are largely campaigning as two groups. To a certain extent the groups are fitting. The incumbents have been largely unresponsive to individual questions outside of the few candidate forums while the new candidates have been more anxious to answer questions on their positions. As groups, both seem to have grasp of the issues comparable to the other. Some individual candidates have demonstrated a better grasp of the issues than others. Sadly, the incumbents were more likely to campaign on “I love this town.” (In one case that seems to be the entire platform.) If I had to vote for one group or the other I would vote for the new candidates. For information on each candidate visit Utah-Candidates.com.

Thankfully I get to vote for individual candidates. I know two candidates that I really want to vote for. Selecting my third choice was a bit harder. I am supporting Jeff Ray, Craig Laurence, and Mark Johnson for Lehi City Council. Overall, these three candidates each have a grasp of the issues and seem prepared to work for the city rather than working for a special interest or simply enjoying their position on the city council.