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cedarvalleysentinel.com sent a survey to each of the City Council and Mayor Candidates for the 2017 election. The questions included ones about roads, education, city issues, city strengths, as well as a few to get to know the candidates on a more personal level. Over the next few weeks, those answers will be published on cedarvalleysentinel.com. If you have missed any, want to catch up, or just review them again, you can do so by visiting the Cedar Valley Sentinel (formerly i84005) Election Center at http://cedarvalleysentinel.com/elections/. Feel free to share these articles on social media. Lets get the word out and increase voter participation in this election cycle. Eagle Mountain is a great city, and it can be made even greater by our elected officials, but they need input from the residents.
The answers for the candidates have not been modified in anyway. We have also randomized the order that the answers are listed in for each question.
There are many programs in Eagle Mountain, don’t have a favorite for sure. Support from the city council is great, but support from the community speaks volumes. I would like to make people more aware of what the city offers, so I would like to work on making the process of how to get involved more open and available to the public.Jared Gray – City Council Candidate
We have been “privatizing” a lot of programs in Eagle Mountain. I think that is great because of what I’ve said about the proper rolls of government. I love the programs, arts, events, baseball, soccer, kestrel etc. We have great programs, and passionate people who will make them great!Donna Burnham – City Council Candidate
Our city library offers some of the best programs available to all residents in the city. They have summer reading, story time, Kids on the Move, bilingual storytime, STEAM activities, food sense classes, and author readings, just to name a few. These programs are largely targeted to children, our largest demographic, but the library offers programs for all ages. These programs are offered for free and have great educational value to our community. We can make these programs stronger by participating in them where we can,continuing to fund the library in the manner we have been doing for the past several years, and volunteering our time so they can offer additional programs.Melissa Clark – City Council Candidate
There are so many great programs here in Eagle Mountain some of which are the private, non-profit organizations that have sprung up out of the desire to provide services for our residents, such as the Pony Express Events organization and the Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance. If I have to pick one program that is the best of Eagle Mountain it would be the City Youth Council, for two reasons: one, because it involves the youth of our community, and two because the youth are able and encouraged to help out with other programs, exposing them to great leaders and opportunities. The youth council has been able to help with Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance events, Pony Express Events, City-wide Clean-up day, and library offerings. I want to facilitate making the program stronger by connecting with more youth and getting more youth involved. I can even see a class offered (or a club at the very least) at the local middle and senior high school with the service and leadership component, like Student Council with a community focus by linking up with the local student councils, and Key Club. In addition to bringing more youth, we need to connect with more adults as mentors, but careful not to have the adults steal the show because Youth Council really is a place for the kids to grow as leaders.Matt Visser – City Council Candidate
I’m going to change the question a little. What’s my favorite program in the city? No question, it’s Youth Council! These young adults are future leaders. These young people volunteer for events at a drop of a hat. They make events more successful, even when they are given little to no direction. Again I’m going to change the question a little bit. What could other programs do to be better? They could go to an occasional youth council meeting. I believe that would remind them why we serve the community.Debbie Hooge – Full Time Mayor Candidate
I have a bias toward Pony Express Days. Mostly because I got it started, and even named it. It has a special place in my heart. I am also proud of the rodeo and efforts made there, as well as the library. I believe both are excellent. These programs are good because they create community. People interacting with each other, learning and enjoying themselves. When it comes to making any program stronger, it takes a community and inviting them to participate. There seems to be some good people in place running these programs. As to making them stronger, in my opinion, the worst thing I or any mayor can do is hire competent people to run programs, and then constantly interfere with them. As mayor, my job would be to help these program managers run their programs; to hear their questions and help them find solutions. We all work together.Drew Curley – City Council Candidate
I believe that the best program we have in Eagle Mountain is the Youth Council. This is a wonderful opportunity for the youth of today, who are often viewed as apathetic or having a negative view towards the political process and government in general, to have a real voice among their peers and work side-by-side with inspired and dedicated leaders. Our children are our future, and we need to give them every opportunity to succeed.Stephanie Gricius – Part Time Mayor Candidate
As funny as this sounds for such a young community, the Seniors’ Council. We have an amazing Seniors’ Council. They are small in number but large in spirit and involvement. Their members are always right there volunteering when the city needs help at functions. The Council puts on a variety of activities for senior members of the community with minimal city funding. I love all of our boards, but this one in particular is a well-oiled machine and does an incredible amount of good.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.