Blain Johnson for Ogden City Council At-Large Seat A
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Friday, October 26, 2007
To say that Blain Johnson, a candidate for the Ogden City Council's At-Large Seat A, knows a little about the redevelopment of Ogden's downtown core is an understatement. Johnson, a lawyer, has actually been involved in some of Ogden's redevelopment.
He's the kind of candidate who'll answer your questions with details. He has knowledge on the topics a member of the city council should be expected to have: public safety, taxation, recreation, social programs, etc.
That's why Johnson is the Standard-Examiner Editorial Board's recommendation for election to At-Large Seat A on Nov. 6.
In the parlance of the legal profession, Johnson's built a practice dealing "transactional" law. He represents businesses -- small and large -- in real estate development, land purchases and the like. That could be seen as a double-edged sword in Ogden, since so much of the city's focus is on downtown redevelopment. We don't want to see someone who would unfairly favor business interests over those of the city's residents, but Johnson doesn't strike us as a yes-man. Rather, he presents himself as the type of individual who'll spot the pitfalls before taking the wrong step.
Concerning the controversial urban gondola proposal that's been a hot topic in Ogden the past couple of years, Johnson is not in favor of a publicly financed gondola. If private interests want to pursue it, he's OK with that, but he thinks public money should be going to whatever form of public transit is best for Ogden -- that gets the most people where they need to go.
Johnson has some very definite ideas about what to do with the Mount Ogden Golf Course. The city says the course loses as much as $300,000 each year.
Johnson says he'd like to see some structures "repositioned" -- for example, placing the clubhouse at the top of 36th Street, to relieve traffic on Taylor Avenue. He also floated the possibility of rezoning property to allow for an upscale restaurant at the course, as well as partnering with the Weber State University golf teams.
That's a lot more detail than we got from any other Ogden candidate regarding the golf course's future.
When it comes to public safety, Johnson says he thinks the zero-tolerance policy is a good first step, but reiterated what most candidates told us: Ogden needs more officers, period, and more officers who specialize in fighting the crimes committed by gangs, due to residents' concerns stemming from recent high-profile gang shootings.
And, finally, Johnson didn't dodge the question of what to do about Ogden's aging and deteriorating water and sewer infrastructure. It will probably require a tax increase, he said. For these reasons, we think he deserves voters' support Nov. 6.
Watch video of interview with Sheila Ardema
Watch video of interview with Blain Johnson
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