OGDEN — A new mayoral hopeful is saying his longtime work in the rehabilitation and education fields has prepared him for the office.

Oscar Mata — vice chair of the Utah Democratic Party and a teacher at Ogden’s DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts — confirmed to the Standard Examiner that he is launching a bid to fill outgoing Mayor Mike Caldwell’s seat this fall.

For the past decade, Mata has run a substance abuse treatment center, which he said has given him a unique perspective on the community.

“Working  with victims of domestic violence and working with those suffering with addiction while also working with — and having a great relationship with — the courts, law enforcement and probation officers, you really get to see a look at what’s happening in Ogden,” he said.

He said the same goes for his time at DaVinci.

“I’ve seen hundreds of kids graduate now during my time as the dean of students,” he said.

Mata says it’s these combined perspectives that have compelled him to run for mayor.

“I think I have a great understanding of what the people of Ogden are going through and what they’re wanting in their next mayor,” he said. “They don’t want Ogden to become the next Salt Lake City, and I think they don’t want to continue to elect those who have served most of their lives as bureaucrats or elected officials.”

He said there are several issues he would love to tackle as mayor, including boosting visibility of the office.

“I think the overarching issue is transparency and being a mayor that understands and is accessible to the voters here in Ogden,” he said. “I don’t believe that you get to know the folks of this city by spending a Tuesday night behind the podium of the City Council. As mayor, you get to know your community and you get to know the city by being proactive, and that’s the type of mayor I plan on being. I want to be at every small business opening. I want to be in the classrooms getting to hear and meet the kids ages first (grade) to seniors that are going to be entering the workforce and going to look at buying homes here in the city.”

Mata said improving public safety is also on his agenda.

“I bring a real unique perspective having served over 15,000 individuals who have gone through the criminal justice process, been their advocate, understand where they’re coming from and their history all at the same time as having the respect and working relationship with our law enforcement, our courts and corrections officers and facility,” he said. “We’re really needing someone to address the criminal justice issues that we’re facing, not just in our city but as a nation as a whole.”

He said defending the city’s park land is also extremely important to him.

“I see the lack of transparency that we have in our parks department,” he said. “Our parks should be the crown jewel of this city. They should be accessible to everybody. They should not be parks that are taken care of depending on what zip code you’re in in this city and they should not be first come, first served to those who are involved in organized sports or who know the mayor or council members.”

Improving elderly care is also among the issues Mata wants to approach if elected.

Despite his current role with a major political party at the state level, Mata said his vision of the role of mayor goes beyond partisan politics.

“One of the great things I love about city government is there aren’t Republican potholes or Democrat sidewalks,” he said. “There’s not liberal parks or conservative garbage cans. This is about moving the city forward with issues that both sides can get behind on if there’s a leader that’s willing to lead instead of just following and catering to the developers.”

A campaign kickoff event will be held in the lobby of the old post office next Thursday from 5:30-7 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Mata joins a growing list of candidates who have already confirmed their runs, including City Council member Ben Nadolski, Taylor Knuth, Angel Castillo and Chris Barragan. The Aug. 15 primary will narrow the number of candidates down to two with the mayoral election occurring Nov. 7.

Newsletter