We’re in the middle of the one-week filing period for three offices in American Fork: mayor and two of five city council seats. I sent Mayor James H. “J.H.” Hadfield a few questions about his office. Here are his replies.

mayor hadfield

Mayor James H. Hadfield

Qualifications

Q. What qualifications should voters look for in mayoral candidates?

A. A mayoral candidate should know the City, i.e. the importance of the commercial base we enjoy, the services our City provides to residents, and the special organizations that provide quality of life to our residents.

Hours

Q. How many hours do you spend in an average week, in your city council activities?

A. I usually spend between 30 and 40 hours a week in the office. City Council meetings are only a small portion of the time required to keep the city moving and to meet other expectations from outsource agencies like the Utah Lake Commission, Mountainland Association of Governments, the Utah County Council of Governments, and the Wasatch Front Transportation Committee.

I always find time to meet with concerned residents and others who “must see the Mayor.”

Major Issues

Q. Looking ahead, what major issues do you see that should concern voters and candidates now?

A. The goals of the City for the coming years include infrastructure improvements, road rehabilitation, growth – both commercial as well as residential — and the expected need to perfect those quality of life issues we all so enjoy.

Thanks

Our thanks to Mayor Hadfield for his responses and his years of service. If you have questions for him, you can reach him the same way we did, at mayor@afcity.net. You may also enjoy this recent public message, in which he speaks of the library, the rec center, economic growth, heroes, and other subjects.

You may also be interested in the American Fork City Council’s responses to similar questions.