On Saturday morning State Auditor John Dougall moderated a meet-the-candidates event at American Fork Hospital. It was part of their Pancakes and Politics series, which is sponsored by the American Fork Chamber of Commerce.
Kevin Barnes
No one in the area has more credibility in the moderator’s role than John Dougall. And the free breakfast was good too. About 40 people attended, not counting the candidates and the moderator. The audience was noticeably older than Wednesday evening’s.
The format was a bit different from Wednesday evening, and some of the questions seemed a bit redundant, but there was more discussion of some key issues, as well as some treatment of issues which didn’t arise on Wednesday evening.
All four candidates were there: incumbents Brad Frost and Rob Shelton, and challengers Allen Simpson and Kevin Barnes.
My audio recording of this event is not of professional quality (that’s no surprise), and there’s a fair amount of background noise. But it’s easy to follow. I’ve broken it up into four segments of about 20 minutes each. For each segment, I’ll list the topics and the order in which the candidates responded.
First Segment
Audio link: 2015_Saturday_1
Councilman Brad Frost
Opening Statements (3 minutes each; Frost – Shelton – Simpson – Barnes)
- Brad Frost: “Let me see the facts, and I will make a decision.”
- Robert Shelton: “We were able to find over the last three years $1.8 million in budget cuts. . . . We were able to do more with less.”
- Allen Simpson: “I’ve been successful at leading teams of people who were not used to following.”
- Kevin Barnes: “I’m not mad at anybody. I’m not after anybody’s throat. I just want to serve.”
Questions (one-minute responses):
- water rates (Shelton – Simpson – Barnes – Frost)
- experience (Simpson – Barnes – Frost – Shelton)
- more experience (Barnes – Frost – Shelton – Simpson)
Second Segment
Audio link: 2015_Saturday_2
Questions:
- property and sales taxes, tax cuts (Frost – Shelton – Simpson – Barnes)
- developers vs. residents (Shelton – Simpson – Barnes – Frost)
- why running, what do you what to accomplish (Simpson – Barnes – Frost – Shelton)
- top two priorities for City’s limited resources (Barnes – Frost – Shelton – Simpson)
Third Segment
Allen Simpson
Audio link: 2015_Saturday_3
Questions:
- police questioning of people who haven’t broken the law (Frost – Shelton – Simpson – Barnes)
- the study saying American Fork is the 4th or 5th most-taxes city in Utah (Shelton – Simpson – Barnes – Frost)
- areas of City government that need changes (Simpson – Barnes – Frost – Shelton)
- roads (Barnes – Frost – Shelton – Simpson)
Fourth Segment
Councilman Rob Shelton
Audio link: 2015_Saturday_4
Questions:
- building department (Frost – Shelton – Simpson – Barnes)
- what to cut in the budget (Shelton – Simpson – Barnes – Frost)
- off-street parking and snow removal (Simpson – Barnes – Frost – Shelton)
Closing Statements (two minutes each; Barnes – Frost – Shelton – Simpson)
You may also enjoy notes and audio from the Wednesday evening candidates event.
Thanks for your excellent election coverage!
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