OGDEN -- For 16 years City Councilman Jesse Garcia has been an advocate for Ogden's low-income and minority residents.
That won't likely change when he leaves office Monday.
"I'm not going away," said Garcia, who expects to make a seamless transition from councilman to community activist. "If things come up that impact things that I stand for, I definitely am going to be a voice for the people as I have been before."
Garcia lost to Neil Garner a bid to serve a fifth term as the council's Municipal Ward 1 representative in November's general election.
It will be difficult to replace Garcia, said City Councilwoman Caitlin Gochnour.
"It's been a pleasure serving with council member Garcia," she said in an email to the Standard-Examiner. "He maintained a sense of humor in all situations and capably represented his constituents and all of Ogden City. Jesse attended meetings regularly and willingly shared his 16 years of council knowledge and wisdom with the rest of us. He will be missed."
Garcia, 56, has been an effective and dedicated city council member, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director.
"Most people don't realize that Ogden City Council members spend 20-25 hours each week on council business," Cook said in an email to the Standard-Examiner. "With 16 years in office Council member Garcia has invested about 18,000 hours of his life and made thousands of decisions to help better the quality of life for our citizens. This alone is very impressive. Add to this Jesse's work experience, knowledge, and keen political sense and you have one dedicated public servant. I thank him for his service and his care and concern for our citizens."
Garner praised Garcia for his years of service on the council. "He did a lot of good for the city and I think he caused people to truly think outside the box," he said. "I hope Jesse stays involved in the community."
A native of Lubbock, Texas, Garcia was only seven months old in 1954 when his parents, both migrant farm workers, moved him and his seven siblings to Ogden. Garcia attended Ben Lomond High School and Utah State University, where he studied sociology.
For the last 11 years, Garcia has worked for Weber Human Services where he specializes in providing assessments to senior citizens for involvement in Meals on Wheels and a variety of volunteer programs. Prior to that he was employed as a counselor with the state Division of Youth Corrections.
Garcia first decided to run for city council in 1993 after leading a successful effort to persuade the Weber County Commission to abandon plans to convert the former Hopkins Elementary School site in West Ogden into a landfill transfer station.
Garcia won re-election four times, but maintains he barely lost in November because of Garner's strong support among voters in the southeast section of Municipal Ward 1.
Still, he is proud of his accomplishments and longevity on the city council.
"I've been able to ask hard questions (of the administration) and stick to my guns," said Garcia, who served as the council's chairman in 2006 and 2007.
Most of all, Garcia has enjoyed tackling tough issues on behalf of residents.
"You don't do it for the money, because there isn't any money in it," he said. "You do it to make a difference."
Garcia said one the highlights of his tenure on the council came 13 years ago when voters approved the issuance of bonds to construct the city's Public Services Building and renovate the Municipal Building, which was built in the 1930's in the Art Deco style.
"Ogden is a historic place and it (the Municipal Building) is one of the last buildings in the city with that architecture," he said.
Despite Garcia's successes, at times he has been at odds with Mayor Matthew Godfrey. "Matt has some really good ideas," Garcia said. "It's just the way he gets some things done that I don't agree with. I really dislike back door politics."
Godfrey in turn applauded Garcia's service to the city.
"I have always enjoyed Jesse," Godfrey said in an email to the Standard-Examiner. "I'm sure people will focus on those issues where Jesse and I saw the world differently, but in actuality we agreed on far more than we disagreed. I have probably spent more one-on-one time with Jesse than any other council member. I always enjoyed being with him. Sixteen years is a long time to be in public office and I thank Jesse for his service."
A striking example of Garcia's differences with Godfrey came in 2007 when he opposed efforts by the mayor's administration to have Utah Transit Authority earmark $247,500 in federal grant funds for engineering, planning and other studies for an urban gondola system.
Those funds have been designated to the city for a street car transit alternative analysis but the gondola project aimed at linking downtown and Weber State University has not come to fruition.
Garcia said he's also concerned with a recent plan floated by the administration to possibly allow condominiums to be built on a portion of the Mount Ogden Golf Course property to help fund improvements and make the course profitable.
He worries that the plan could eliminate valuable open space around the course. "Once open space is gone, it's gone," he said.
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