Ogden City Council hopefuls sound off on housing, the homeless, police evaluations
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- The candidates for the District 4 seat on the Ogden City Council, photographed at a forum on Monday, July 17, 2023, at the Pleasant Valley Branch library in Washington Terrace. They are, from left, Sebastian Benitez, Alexander Castagno, Dave Graf, Austin Raymond and Steve Van Wagoner.
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- The candidates for the At-Large C seat on the Ogden City Council, photographed at a forum on Monday, July 17, 2023, at the Pleasant Valley Branch library in Washington Terrace. They are, from left, Levi Andersen, Lara Gale, Shaun Myers and John Thompson. Julez Garcia, who didn’t appear, has also filed to run for the seat. Katie Matheson, another contender, has dropped out of the race.
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- The audience at a forum held Monday, July 17, 2023, for the candidates for the At-Large C and District 4 seats on the Ogden City Council. The forum was held at the Pleasant Valley Branch library in Washington Terrace.
OGDEN — The jockeying for two Ogden City Council posts up for grabs this cycle is moving forward.
The primary to narrow the list of hopefuls in the race for the District 4 and At-Large C posts culminates in seven weeks, Sept. 5. But the candidates for each post faced off Monday night in back-to-back forums, touching on housing, the homeless, the Latino community, an Ogden Police Department officer-evaluation system that’s come under scrutiny and more.
Ben Nadolski now holds the District 4 post, which covers southeastern Ogden, including the Shadow Valley area, but he’s running for mayor this cycle. Five others have stepped forward to run for the post to replace him — Austin Raymond, Dave Graf, Alexander Castagno, Steve Van Wagoner and Sebastian Benitez.
Luis Lopez now holds the At-Large C post, which represents the entire city, but he’s not seeking reelection. Running instead are Shaun Myers, John Thompson, Lara Gale, Levi Andersen and Julez Garcia. Garcia did not appear at Monday’s forum while Katie Matheson, who had filed to run for the seat, announced prior to the start of the event that she had dropped out of the race.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances I have made the tough decision to withdraw from the race,” Matheson said in a press release. “It was with care and consideration that I chose to enter this race, and it is with that same care and consideration that I have now decided to withdraw.”
Seven hopefuls are running for mayor of Ogden to replace Mike Caldwell, who’s not vying again. They face off at a forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the offices of Youth Impact Ogden, 2305 Grant Ave.
HOUSING
The affordable housing crunch and construction of apartments and townhomes in Ogden generated a strong response among the District 4 hopefuls.
“I don’t think we need more apartments,” said Graf, a member of the Ogden Planning Commission. Rather, he touted a need for “middle housing” geared to first-time homebuyers. Homeowners are more engaged in a community, “contributing to the fabric” of the city, he said, adding that apartment dwellers are a more transient population, less engaged.
Van Wagoner, who was vocal late last year and early this year in calls to turn surplus Ogden School District property into parks, sounded a similar message, suggesting the focus in homebuilding should be on owner-occupied dwellings, not apartments geared to renters. “I’m proposing that if you can’t own it, we don’t build it in Ogden,” he said.
Raymond lamented the high rents some apartments fetch, upwards of $2,000 a month, and said efforts should focus, in part, on boosting economic opportunities so people have enough money to cover the costs. “It is awful,” he said.
Benitez, who puts a focus in his platform on protecting homeownership, also lamented the quantity of new apartments taking shape in Ogden. “We have apartments enough for 15 years. We don’t need to build anymore apartments,” he said.
Only Castagno expressed openness to apartment construction.
“We need more housing. That includes single-family homes, even if they’re smaller. We need townhomes, condos and yes, even apartments,” he said, alluding to their appeal to younger Utahns.
HOMELESSNESS
On homelessness, a common theme among the hopefuls seemed to be about involving nonprofit organizations and other community groups in tackling the issue.
Van Wagoner said the city of Ogden can’t fight homelessness alone. Community groups have a big role in addressing homeless and that needs to continue, he said, a message echoed by Benitez. “I don’t think the city is in the business of solving our unhoused population. However, we can work with other community organizations,” Van Wagoner said.
Castagno cited the import of addressing mental health issues that factor in homelessness.
Graf noted with chagrin that Ogden is the only city between Logan and Salt Lake City with homeless shelters. “We’re carrying a lot on our shoulders and I think we need to ask some of the other communities to share the burden that is the unhoused population,” he said.
Among the At-Large C hopefuls, Andersen, a teacher at Mound Fort Junior High School in Ogden, said a big concern for him is homelessness among kids and teens. Moreover, more family homeless shelters are needed, he said, and city officials should work with their counterparts at the county, state and federal level to address the issue.
Gale similarly noted the import of working with agencies tasked with addressing homelessness. “It’s something we should address as a city, but we’re not going to solve it as a city,” she said.
Before the issue can be addressed, Thompson said a better definition is needed of what exactly constitutes homelessness.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
The candidates were also asked what they would do to encourage involvement among everybody in city affairs. More particularly, the District 4 hopefuls were asked how they would increase involvement among Latinos and other racial and ethnic minorities in the city, who account for some 30% to 36% of Ogden’s population.
Benitez, originally from Paraguay, briefly addressed the gathering in Spanish. “I will represent the 36% Hispanic population too. I’m the only Hispanic running who speaks in Spanish and tries to learn English,” he said.
Raymond indicated that his focus wouldn’t be on helping any one demographic group, but rather on helping everyone who needs it.
“I don’t care about the color of someone’s skin. I care about the content of their character. I care about the fact that they are an Ogden city resident,” he said. “I want to increase and improve the opportunities, economic, for every person that is impoverished, that lives below the poverty line, that is not living as well off as I am or as they’d want to be.”
Among the At-Large C hopefuls, Myers noted that he, too, speaks Spanish and that outreach to the varied elements of the community — regardless of race or economic class — is a focus for him as part of his work. He owns Myers Mortuary.
“I reach out to these diverse groups because sometimes they’re underrepresented, and even though I’m a white, older man, I feel what I bring to the table is a known voice,” he said.
Thompson, a retired U.S. Marine who has run for varied posts over the years in Weber County more than 10 times, said his focus is on treating everybody with respect and dignity. At the same time, he noted that it’s each individual’s responsibility to be involved.
Andersen echoed the notion that it’s up to individuals to take the time to be involved, but also said they have to feel that their opinion will be heard if they speak out.
When the City Council allows for public comment, those speaking “should be taken seriously,” he said. “I believe they should be respected and answered the best they can.”
Gale said with regard to “public systems,” everyone should be “benefitting together.”
“There are definitely cases in which there are people who are systematically excluded, and the only way to address it is to know how to find how those people are being excluded and why and then figure out what the solution needs to be and implement it,” she said.
OGDEN PD’s POINT SYSTEM
A portion of the Ogden Police Department officer-evaluation policy that factors the number of traffic citations an officer writes in their periodic job reviews has drawn attention. Some have suggested it seems to approximate an illegal quota system. Police officials have rejected the suggestion, noting in part that traffic enforcement is just one of several factors used in personnel reviews, and the City Council hopefuls were asked for their thoughts.
Raymond took particular umbrage at the point-system policy, which grants officers points based on many criteria, including the number of tickets they write.
“I don’t care that these drivers are dangerous and do deserve their tickets. What’s wrong is that you are giving (tickets) to them for unjust reasons, and that is unacceptable. That erodes at public trust,” he said. “If I’m elected I’ll go to Chief (Eric) Young and I’ll say, ‘I love what you’re doing, I want you to keep ticketing the people who deserve it, but if you don’t cut this point system, I will fire you tomorrow.'”
Castagno, too, opposes the system, while others took more moderate positions, noting the import of issuing traffic citations to scofflaw drivers to help assure public safety.
“I have 100% confidence in Chief Young. He has all my backing,” Van Wagoner said.
Among the At-Large C hopefuls, Myers said assuring public safety is a big issue and that the police need support. “I think they have a lot of challenging issues that face them,” he said.
But he said he’d first need to learn more about the point system before sounding off on it.
Thompson, a police department supporter, said he too would need to get more information on the topic. If there are other officer-evaluation systems that can be used, “I would ask (Chief Young) why not those and why are you using this?”
Andersen voiced opposition to ticket quotas but also noted that the Ogden Police Department system is meant for the evaluation of officers, not as a means to bolster citations. “It’s used to evaluate the quality of officers that we have — I can kind of see it. I think when you say, ‘You have to write this many tickets or you’re fired,’ that’d be wrong,” he said.
Gale noted that the Ogden Police Department policy is under review by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and indicated that she hopes the issue isn’t something the City Council would have to decide on. “I would hope that our institutions are sound enough that the City Council doesn’t have to make decisions for the police chief,” she said.
The top two winners in each City Council race in primary voting will move on to the general election. General election balloting culminates Nov. 21.
The Weber County League of Women Voters, the Ogden Branch of the NAACP and Latinos United Promoting Education and Civic Engagement, or LUPEC, hosted Monday’s candidate forum.