As before, I sent all the candidates the same questions. That was about two weeks ago. I’ve had two responses. If more arrive, I’ll happily post them.

In case you don’t already know, mayoral candidates Brad Frost and Carlton Bowen are on the November general election ballot in American Fork. Kyle Barratt, Barbara Christiansen, Staci Carroll, and Jeffrey Shorter are running for two available city council seats.

Note: Responses may be slightly edited for grammar, punctuation, and format. Responses by candidates who were defeated in the primary are still available below, behind the buttons.

  • Published: 19 October 2017
  • Updated: (20 October 2017)

Candidate responses are by race (mayoral, then city council), then alphabetically by surname.

What’s on the Voters’ Minds?

As you’ve spoken with voters individually during the campaign, what issues or concerns have they raised most often? (List two or three, and give a brief response on each, if you wish.)

Carlton Bowen (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Brad Frost (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Kyle Barratt (for council)

(no response yet)

Staci Carroll (for council)

Staci Carroll

Staci Carroll

Hands down, the #1 mentioned issue is road condition. It is a problem that is going to take some creative solutions. I will refer you to my road answer on another post of this website.

Another issue that many have brought up is crime. From what I have seen, the police force has many funding needs. These needs range from fleet vehicles, surveillance equipment, recording equipment, facility upgrades, police force, to analytics. Beyond providing more funding for these needs, there are things we can do as a community to prevent crime. I would love to see more efforts in boosting our neighborhood watch programs. Also, I think that CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) principles can be implemented without a lot of cost. These principles consist of things like clearing or creating areas for natural surveillance, adding lights, and using natural access control.

Some other issues raised are arts funding, cost of utilities, water pressure, development in the canyon, water main breaks, the fiber optic line, debt, fireworks, sidewalk replacement/construction, and irrigation ditches.

Barbara Christiansen (for council)

(no response yet)

Jeff Shorter (for council)

Jeff Shorter

Jeff Shorter

Roads, growth.

Wanting More for Less

How should an elected official — or the City generally — respond to voters who want more and more services, and better and better infrastructure, but also think you should lower their taxes and decrease their fees?

Carlton Bowen (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Brad Frost (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Kyle Barratt (for council)

(no response yet)

Staci Carroll (for council)

On one side of the coin, I think that it is always wise to look for more efficiencies. I would love to do more with less money. For example, the city has combined and outsourced some services to create efficiencies in scale and lower costs.

On the other side of the coin, citizens have to realize that more services typically mean more cost. Priorities have to be drawn and hard decisions have to be made to benefit the city for the future.

Barbara Christiansen (for council)

(no response yet)

Jeff Shorter (for council)

Explain the options clearly and let them choose if they want to pay the taxes necessary to get the services they want.

Hindsight

If you could reverse the outcome of a single city council vote in recent years, what would it be and why?

Carlton Bowen (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Brad Frost (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Kyle Barratt (for council)

(no response yet)

Staci Carroll (for council)

I recognize that most cities in the state are struggling to fund roads, but we are in especially poor shape. Part of the reason that our roads are in their current condition is that over time, the city chose to siphon funding away from roads to other city needs. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have voted to provide more funding to maintaining our roads.

Here is a more specific example. Recently, the city council approved a plat design for apartments in the Meadows that provides parking across the street from the apartments. The planning commission recommended a denial because, among other things, the design would create a safety hazard for apartment residents. I could picture a mother carrying groceries and children from her car to her home across the street. I understand the city council does not have to follow the recommendation of the planning commission. However, I do not see a compelling reason to approve a plan with these potential safety hazards. I freely admit that there could be factors that I am not aware of but based on what I do know, I disagree on this one.

Barbara Christiansen (for council)

(no response yet)

Jeff Shorter (for council)

I would not reverse a single vote since I have been on the council.

(Note: By the time this same question came up in the debate, he had thought of a vote he might reverse.)

The Primary Campaign

Looking back on the primary campaign, which part of your campaign strategy or activities do you think most contributed to your victory?

Carlton Bowen (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Brad Frost (for mayor)

(no response yet)

Kyle Barratt (for council)

(no response yet)

Staci Carroll (for council)

I wish I knew. People usually mention one of three things: my personal website (StaciCarroll.com), the debates, or this website (afelection.info). I have tried quite a few other methods of contacting people; I like to think they are all a drop in the bucket but I don’t have a way to measure.

Barbara Christiansen (for council)

(no response yet)

Jeff Shorter (for council)

Being civil and serving the City well the past 4 years.

Thanks again to candidates for participating here. If any candidates wish to send me responses to any questions they haven’t answered, I’ll post them.

If I or others come up with more questions, I’ll ask them. In the meantime, a good question from the recent debate was on tax incentives to attract businesses. Complete audio is elsewhere at this site, but here’s that segment: