Inside 84045

Posted By Mike Kieffer on October 7, 2009

The Forth question: Without comparing yourself to the other candidates, what makes you qualified for the position you are running for?

Jeff Francom – Mayor

I have a long background in finance and business. I believe that government should be run like a responsible business. We don’t spend more than we have and don’t consider taxing citizens as the primary source of revenue.

Mia Love – Mayor

I am an ambitious person with strong communication skills and experience. My family and I have lived in the city of Saratoga Springs for over nine years. Six of those nine years, I have served representing the people of our city. As a city council member, I have taken part in the growth, planning, and decisions that have lead us to where we are today.

I have had multiple municipal trainings from The Utah League of Cities and town. I have years of experience with our cities budgets. I know what to look for when reviewing site plans, concept plans, preliminary and final plats. I can help keep the city away from known pitfalls and hold on to practices and policies that work.

We have gotten through some very tough budget challenges, which resulted from the economic downfall, and still doing well. We are no longer solely dependent on residential development revenues. We have made changes and put policies in place so that we are ready, no matter what the economic tide.

I am constant and dedicated. I don’t dwell on what could have been done in the past; I focus on solutions for the future. I don’t point fingers, but I reach out a hand and roll up my sleeves to find solutions.
It would take six years of on the job training to have the comparable experience, critical historical data, relationships and networks that I have acquired.

Michael McOmber – City Council Member

Over 10 years experience in the Customer Experience Industry
We need to create a better customer experience with current and future developers and businesses or we will not attract the best of the best for our city.

Established customer experience programs for multiple fortune 100 companies including Microsoft, Coca Cola, Nike, and others
I understand business and how it works. I believe that government has been entitled for too long and needs to run more efficiently and be held to similar standards businesses are required to. I will accomplish this through internal auditing and process reviews to identify possible waste or redundancies.

Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and an MBA in Marketing
I am a people person and I believe that this skill is essential when working as a City Council Representative because everything that you do involves working with people.

Jim Miller – City Council Member

I have an inclusive background and knowledge of finance, business development, and lending. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration along with twelve years of experience in the finance/banking industry. I am also a strong strategic thinker and team builder. I feel these qualifications are important, because Saratoga Springs is at a crucial time where we need to plan for a secure financial tomorrow by creating a responsible city growth plan, which will keep the lifestyle we love.

Michael Simpson – City Council Member

I think the most important qualification for any public servant is unquestioned ethics. As citizens we allow government to hold many of our rights in trust and as such it is critical that those we elect into government positions are worthy of that trust. Over the six years my family has lived in Saratoga Springs we have been involved in service to our community. This desire to be of service and better to my community is the reason I am now running for a position on the City Council. I believe nothing can do more to enhance the quality of a community and a city than the active involvement of its citizens. If we as citizens are constantly striving to better our communities we will in turn better our city.

Besides voluntary service in my community I have also made it a point to attend and actively participate in as many City Council meetings as possible. This regular attendance has allowed me to become very familiar with the needs, opportunities and challenges our city is currently facing and has given me insight into the normal operating functions of the City Council. As a result I will be able to start working and contributing right away without a need to be brought up-to-speed. I think regular attendance at City Council meetings should be a prerequisite for serving on the Council. Not only does it prepare one for the position it also shows commitment.

The combination of my work in the computer field and my education in business (MBA) has conditioned me to always look for increased efficiencies. This skill will help to ensure we are not wasting your tax dollars. This has also helped me to better relate to business owners in the city, to see their struggles and identify areas where the city can help to increase their and consequently our success.

Cecil Tuley – City Council Member

While age is not necessarily a natural qualifier for a council position, it does contribute to the likelihood that the individual will have had significant learning and observation experiences across a broad spectrum and long time period. Such experience would contribute to a sound understanding of the issues that arise in city government. At age 64, I will make that claim.

I have worked hard over many years to be a productive and involved citizen. I have watched several communities develop over the years, some of which were bedroom communities much like Saratoga Springs, and I have been active in citizen service and on action committees in those communities.

I am a broadly educated person having earned bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees, and also attended technical school at UVSC, completing journeyman certification in the plumbing trade and obtaining a contractor’s license, which I made use of during the summers of my teaching career. My construction experience has given me a very good understanding of the processes that must be followed in both residential and commercial construction, and contributes to my understanding of what infrastructure is required to develop a project successfully. In my college programs I obtained formal training in the physical sciences, in program and business development and evaluation, and in operational budgeting processes. I have past experience as a small businessman, and many years experience in leadership and management. I have worked many jobs over my 45 + years as a productive employee and businessman. I have taught school at the junior high, high school (Provo and Nebo Districts), and college levels (UVSC), receiving several recognition awards for excellence before moving into an administrative role. I was a successful school administrator in Alpine School District for over 13 years.

I have been directly involved in political matters and public service in Saratoga Springs for almost seven years, serving as a volunteer neighborhood representative arguing several matters of interest from Lake Mountain residents before the planning commission and city council. As part of the process of representing my neighborhood and maintaining my interest in how our community is developing I have consistently attended city council regular and work meetings for much of the past six and a half years. I also attended planning commissions meetings regularly during the first three and a half years. I have argued several issues before the council and have offered many suggestions during meetings, especially when the issues are related to residents’ concerns about issues that adversely affect them. I have volunteered as coordinator for the development of neighborhood parks for the past year. Since volunteering for the parks development projects, I have helped get three parks completed, am currently supervising two more nearly completed park projects. I have proposed development plans for three more parks in our community. One of those parks would be a regional park for team sports. Nearly all of the parks’ work has resulted in several boys earning their Eagle Scout awards. The boys have helped me organize neighborhoods into work crews for the placing of many acres of sod grass and hundreds of trees. I have a proven record of selfless service that I plan to continue to offer our community.

NOTE: Next question: What are your goals/plans for the Saratoga Springs Police Department?

I am not editing any of the responses. They are being posted as I received them from the candidates.

Categories: Elections 2009
Tags: candidate questions, election 2009