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Gale enters crowded at-large field vying for Ogden City Council

By Rob Nielsen - | Jun 7, 2023

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Lara Gale was a candidate for the at-large seat C on the Ogden City Council. She withdrew from the election Sept. 14, 2023, citing professional commitments.

OGDEN — The race for the Ogden City Council’s at-large seat being vacated by Luis Lopez continues to grow.

This week, Lara Gale was among several new filings in the race for the open spot.

Gale told the Standard-Examiner she’s lived in Ogden for three years but had several prior connections to the area, and that hosting foreign exchange students helped inspire her to get more involved in the community, culminating in a run for City Council.

“I think Ogden is the most special place and I love it so much,” she said. “Last year, I hosted a couple of high school exchange students from Sweden and Germany, and they went to Ben Lomond High School. That experience made me feel like I really wanted to be part of this community and help to continue to increase the amount of service that’s being done for communities like my neighborhood. … I see there’s plenty of work to be done. The seat is open right now and somebody’s going to have to get in there and do the work.”

She said previous governmental experience includes serving as a civil affairs sergeant in the Army for six years.

“I have a really strong understanding of the value of institutions and such a great appreciation for the types of institutions we have in the United States,” she said. “People might think that America is falling apart, but juxtaposed with something as extreme as Afghanistan and trying to inculcate American values in a place that has such challenges, I’m so grateful for what we have in the United States.”

If elected, Gale said she’d like to focus on getting the citizenry more involved in local government.

“Generally speaking, there’s a lot of work to be done to educate the public so that people feel confident when they’re engaging with their government,” she said. “I want to help increase transparency, community engagement and accountability.”

She said she’s also interested in protecting natural resources.

Gale said she ultimately wants to be approachable for voters.

“I understand how intimidating it can be to try and engage with government,” she said. “I really genuinely would like, in this position, to be accessible in terms of helping clarify what the capacities of governance are and have really meaningful conversations with people to figure out how, using the levers available in the institutions we have, we can work together to help people feel confident that their communities are serving them.”

Gale joins Julez Garcia, Katie Matheson, John Thompson and J. Levi Andersen in filing for the at-large seat.

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