Author: David Rodeback (Page 3 of 12)

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Ken Sumsion

08/27/2023 / David Rodeback

Here is American Fork City Council candidate Ken Sumsion‘s answer to one of the questions I sent to all the candidates, presented here unedited and without comment except for this one. I enjoyed this in his e-mail: “I figure [a] 170 word question should be granted more than 100 word response.”

Painting of casually dressed people at an event, in the style of Renior - AF candidate open house

Open House: Well Done, AF Voters!

08/26/2023 / David Rodeback

Monday evening’s 90-minute, informal city council candidate open house at the American Fork Senior Center was well attended on two counts. All the candidates were there — which doesn’t always happen — and a few dozen voters attended too.

It Was Good

I spent some quality time with each of the candidates except the one I already know best, incumbent Clark Taylor. I asked some of my questions, listened as they answered my questions and others’, and chatted briefly with some voters too — because I’m always eager to hear what other voters are thinking.

I won’t name names here — I will soon — but more than one candidate improved in my view, based on the evening’s conversations. And I enjoyed meeting the candidates I hadn’t met before.

Here’s the crux of this post: Attendance was good. (Well done!) And it wasn’t just numbers. Voters who attended were civil and friendly, asked smart questions, listened to the answers, and in general seemed serious and engaged. (Did I already say “Well done!”?) Quite a few of them were there from the beginning to the end.

Coming Soon at AFelection.info

On Monday I’ll post my thoughts on each candidate by name. I’ll tell you why some get my votes and others don’t — based in part on conversations at the open house, in part on interviews and answers posted here at afelection.net, and in part on prior knowledge of some of the candidates.

In the meantime, here at AFelection.info this week we’ve added one candidate to John Mulholland’s reports of his interviews (now seven of nine), and I’ve posted answers to some or all of my questions by the five candidates who have responded so far. (I’m still hoping for more — and I did send the questions very late.) Here are links to their answers, in the order of their responses:

Thanks for reading. Thanks for learning BEFORE you vote. Thanks to the American Fork Chamber of Commerce for hosting the event, as they so often do. And I keep saying this, but stay tuned.

Image credit: generated by DALL·E with prompt “Renoir painting of casually dressed people standing at a party” (I was feeling whimsical.)

Christina Ballard - American Fork City Council candidate

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Christina Ballard

08/23/2023 / David Rodeback

Here are American Fork City Council candidate Christina Ballard‘s answers to most of the questions I sent to all the candidates. Her answers are presented here unedited and without comment.

Elizabeth Gray - American Fork City Council candidate

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Elizabeth Gray

08/22/2023 / David Rodeback

Here are American Fork City Council candidate Elizabeth Gray‘s answers to the questions I sent to all the candidates. Her answers are presented here unedited and without comment.

Note that not all candidates choose — or have time — to answer all ten questions. If any of them send more answers later, I’ll add them..

Austin Duke - American Fork City Council candidate

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Austin Duke

08/21/2023 / David Rodeback

Here are American Fork City Council candidate Austin Duke‘s answers to the questions I sent to all the candidates. His answers are presented here unedited, except for two surnames added for clarity, and without comment.

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Tim Holley

08/21/2023 / David Rodeback

Tim Holley is one of nine American Fork City Council candidates currently competing for six slots on the general election ballot and then for three available seats on the council. He sent me answers to most of the questions I sent, including the crucial first three. If he has time to answer any of the others later, I’ll update this post.

Meanwhile, here are my questions and his answers, the latter unedited and without comment.

Clark Taylor 2023 - American Fork City Council

Q&A with American Fork City Council Candidate Clark Taylor

08/19/2023 / David Rodeback

Here are incumbent American Fork City Councilman Clark Taylor‘s responses to the ten questions I sent to all the candidates. His responses are unedited and presented without comment.

Your Primary Votes Matter — Learn BEFORE You Vote

08/16/2023 / David Rodeback

My primary ballot for the 2023 American Fork municipal election arrived yesterday, and I’m far behind the curve. I only know about half of the American Fork City Council candidates at all, let alone well enough to choose confidently among them when I mark my ballot. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Ordinarily, I’d have been working at this for the last several weeks and posting much of what I learned here. But I’ve been busy with other things. Good things, enjoyable things — but now the slightly-delayed primary election is upon us.

I finally sent some questions to the candidates this evening — the same questions for all of them (see below), but weeks later than I usually do that. Whatever answers they send (within reason) I will post, and given the timing, I won’t wait to hear from most or all of the candidates before doing so.

Meanwhile, here are some other opportunities to learn about candidates.

Minimalist drawing of five candidates at podiums

2023 American Fork City Council Candidates (and two date changes)

06/24/2023 / David Rodeback

Three of five seats on the American Fork City Council are up for election this year. The term is four years, and the other two seats and the mayor will be up for election in 2025.

Ten candidates filed during the June 1-7 filing period, but one has since withdrawn. Of the nine remaining, only one, Clark Taylor, is an incumbent. Another, Jeff Shorter, served on the council previously. He was first elected in 2013.

The primary election will narrow the field to six (two per seat). However, candidates don’t run for specific seats or from specific districts. The winners will simply be the six (in the primary), then the three (in the general election) who get the most votes. The winners’ will be sworn in just after New Year’s Day.

Here’s an important note, of which more below: municipal primary and general elections have been postponed statewide. They’ll be a few weeks later than usual.

American Fork Presbyterian Church with mountains

AF City Council Interviews: My Own Reflections

05/31/2023 / David Rodeback

I mostly kept my own views out of the several previous posts in which I reported my one-on-one interviews with all five members of the American Fork City Council. But perhaps you’ll indulge some personal thoughts as we conclude.

I’ve observed and worked in politics and government at the local, state, and national levels since childhood, and I studied government in an academic setting for years. Whether or not I was inherently so at the beginning, I became cynical and skeptical. At the same time, I remain idealistic enough to hope for better than we often see in some contexts, and, yes, to be misled by the occasional politician, at least for a while.

A Jeffersonian Virtue

That said, these interviews increased my existing sense that there is a sort of Jeffersonian virtue about American Fork’s city government these days. I know people have grievances and disagreements; I know things things are imperfect and in some cases outright flawed. There is ample room for improvement.

But I just spent about five hours with good, capable people who I believe are doing their best to serve the city and its residents — and who I believe have done well, especially as a group.