Candidate Question – Literature

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. Question: Name one work of literature that has had an impact on you, and why you think it is important for a guide during this election cycle? Donna Burnham – City Council Candidate

That’s a cruel question to ask someone who loves books! Using the above criteria, I would say that two books which helped me while serving on the council and will continue to be a guide are The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute and Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The Anatomy of Peace deals directly with conflict resolution, in particular recognizing our part in conflict. Team of Rivals is a biography about Abraham Lincoln that highlights his ability to work with those who disagreed and even hated him.

Jan Preece – City Council Candidate

Lately I have been reading works from the time around the Revolutionary War. Common Sense by Thomas Payne is one of these works. I have gone from reading it on Kindle to buying a copy so that I can highlight and take notes in. One passage I came across Thomas Payne states, “Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions.” How true is this of life? How many times have fixing immediately some things grown into a burden for years to come? Could proper planning have helped the situation? Could getting insight from others avoided the circumstance? I feel this little sentence can be applied when making plans for our city. Is the decision made now going to be a burden in the years to come?

Drew Curley – City Council Candidate

One book that I read recently was “How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming”, which is a memoir written by Mark Brown. This details his journey as a scientist during the process of the recent reclassification of planets, and its effect on how we think about our solar system. After years of turmoil and strife battling with international legislative bodies and his own philosophies, he was able to make changes in something he believed. Like the cosmos, we are at a point where we need to take a deep look at what makes Eagle Mountain what it is, and what we need to do to shape our future. I also read a lot of John Grisham.

Debbie Hooge – Full Time Mayor Candidate

I am a prolific reader, but I am not sure that my genre is likely to be influential as a guide in this election. I like spy novels and murder mysteries and thrillers so, hopefully, none of that comes to play in this election cycle. I do confess that every morning I spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour reading scriptures. It helps me keep a balance in my life and a bit of peace.

Matt Visser – City Council Candidate

I don’t spend much time reading books. I do spend a lot of time reading the news, and doing my own research. That’s the reading I prefer to do. The impact that has had on me, I find my own answers. I’m not afraid to ask people where to find the information I need to form an opinion.

Stephanie Gricius – Part Time Mayor Candidate

This isn’t specific to the election but I love Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. It has helped guide my personal finances and money is obviously a big part of everyone’s life.

Melissa Clark – City Council Candidate

When I was in junior high, I would ride my bike to our city’s library and there was a free box that people could leave books they were done with. In that box, I found a copy of Alex Haley’s Roots. I have read and re-read that book. Why? Because I love the idea that what we do has an impact on generations to come, and that we are stronger than just ourselves, that our ancestors lived, and loved and fought for us to get to where we are at this place in time. When I think about running and serving in Eagle Mountain, I think about the people who are my roots and helped me get to where I am. I also think about the roots that we are establishing here in EM for our generations to come.