Angel Castillo declares candidacy for Ogden mayor
-
- Former Ogden planning commission member Angel Castillo declares her candidacy for mayor of Ogden at the Marshall N. White Community Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.
-
- Former Ogden Planning Commission member Angel Castillo declares her candidacy for mayor of Ogden at the Marshall White Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.
-
- Former Ogden planning commission member Angel Castillo declares her candidacy for mayor of Ogden at the Marshall N. White Community Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.
OGDEN — Supporters of Angel Castillo showed up in droves at the Marshall White Center on Tuesday as the former Ogden City Planning Commissioner officially declared her candidacy for mayor of Ogden City.
At the heart of her vision for Ogden, she said, is the city’s people and their needs.
Her long-term vision for the city includes creating a pathway to home ownership, adjusting the city’s annual budget to the “right size” and providing citizens with freedom to thrive and pursue their dreams.
Having grown up in Chicago, Castillo said she is passionate about access to home ownership because her mother worked two jobs at a factory to make ends meet. With most of her paycheck going to rent, her mother struggled to make ends meet.
“I know what government cheese tastes like,” she said.
In her announcement, Castillo recalled a time in her childhood when her mother could not spare 25 cents from a table of quarters — each one needed to make rent.
“Home ownership is the fastest way to financial freedom and out of intergenerational poverty,” she said.
While acknowledging a housing shortage, Castillo said an abundance of multifamily dwellings stuffed into every parcel of vacant land is not going to fix the problem.
According to Castillo, soft-density throughout the city is not necessarily a bad thing, but there needs to be a change in zoning to allow for smaller units to be built.
High rent costs are a burden to the city’s economy, Castillo said, leaving little for families to spend with local businesses.
If elected mayor, Castillo will be the first female and first Latina mayor of Ogden City.