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Four candidates for office in Ogden met Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at a forum. They are, from left, District 4 City Council hopeful Dave Graf, at-large City Council hopeful Levi Andersen, District 4 hopeful Steve Van Wagoner and mayoral hopeful Ben Nadolski. The event was held on the grounds of the Ogden Masonic Temple.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

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Four candidates for office in Ogden met Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at a forum. They are, from left, District 4 City Council hopeful Dave Graf, at-large City Council hopeful Levi Andersen, District 4 hopeful Steve Van Wagoner and mayoral hopeful Ben Nadolski. The event was held on the grounds of the Ogden Masonic Temple.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — Four of the hopefuls for city office in Ogden — one mayoral candidate and three City Council contenders — gathered for a forum as Election Day nears, taking on relations with neighboring locales, development and more.

On hand for Thursday’s event were mayoral contender Ben Nadolski, District 4 City Council hopefuls Steve Van Wagoner and Dave Graf, and at-large City Council hopeful Levi Andersen. Taylor Knuth, the other mayoral hopeful, and Shaun Myers, the other at-large candidate, did not attend.

The Ogden Community Collaborative, a grassroots group, organized the event, held outdoors on the grounds of the Ogden Masonic Temple, and about 30 people attended. Here are some of the highlights of the candidates’ remarks:

The power balance between the mayor and City Council: Nadolski thinks balance comes by fostering an environment that encourages all views to be aired, by officials speaking out when so inspired.

As a member of the City Council, he said, he’s generated criticism at times for expressing his opinion and conscience. However, allowing for the airing of diverse views, he went on, helps foster a measure of balance in government.

Graf doesn’t sense imbalance in the power between the City Council and mayor, he said. Rather, he stressed the import of city officials working collaboratively.

“I think that it’s important that we establish a vision as a governing body and agree on that vision, set goals to accomplish that vision and that we work together to move those goals forward,” Graf said.

Andersen thinks the mayor’s slot, as a full-time post, will necessarily wield more day-to-day power than the City Council spots, part-time slots. The City Council spots would need to be converted into full-time positions to augment their power, he maintains, and he would oppose such a move because of the cost.

“So I think the way we have it now works well,” he said, even if it has its shortcomings.

Van Wagoner senses an even split between the power of the mayor and City Council. The City Council, though, can have extra influence, he thinks, via the items it allows on meeting agendas.

“It the City Council wanted to, all they have to say is, ‘No, we’re not putting it on the agenda. It’s bad for Ogden.’ So yes, we can do better,” he said. He was alluding to proposed changes to provisions of zoning ordinances for manufacturing zones, a focus of current deliberation by the City Council.

Relations with other cities: Graf doesn’t sense any strain in the relationship between Ogden and other Weber County cities, as suggested in the question put to the hopefuls. At any rate, he added, maintaining ties with other locales is the task of the mayor.

Andersen, a Mound Fort Junior High School teacher, pointed to Caldwell’s status as a “lame duck mayor.” He serves through the end of 2023. If someone is on the cusp of leaving office, Andersen said, “they are not as much in the game as someone else coming in.”

Beyond that, he said, it’s up to voters to select new leadership if they sense relations are strained and think new blood is needed.

Nadolski believes relations are, in fact, strained between Ogden and other cities, pointing to what he said is the absence of Ogden’s mayor at monthly gatherings of Weber County leaders.

“We’re the only city that never shows up. They need us at that table. They are begging for us to be friends,” he said. “We have to do better with our neighboring cities.”

Van Wagoner maintains that Ogden has “strained” relationships not only with other cities, but with Weber County government and Ogden school officials. Smoothing things, he said, requires meeting with the other officials, “listening to them, respecting their opinion.” City Council members, he said, need to be part of increased outreach efforts.

Development: Questioned about an apparent lack of compatibility in development in Ogden — with varied housing types and commercial properties seeming to bump one other at times — both Graf and Nadolski said if that’s the case, it stems from existing provisions of the city’s zoning laws.

“Nobody’s building anything illegally in a place where it’s not allowed,” Graf said.

At the same time, both Graf, a member of the Ogden Planning Commission, and Nadolski pointed to plans to update the city’s general plan, which guides development, as key in adjusting development trends in the city.

Getting experienced people in city government will be key in those efforts, Graf said, and he touted his experience. “We get a chance to rewrite things and I’m excited to be a part of that because Ogden has a lot going on. It’s moving in a positive direction,” he said.

Nadolski called for a general plan update “that is consistent with our … future.”

Van Wagoner said the city “needs to do better” with its varied development plans. “If we have better plans, we can better spend our money, your money,” he said.

In his response, Andersen put a focus on the seeming preponderance of apartment growth in Ogden, which he defended as a means of creating housing stock for those who can’t afford to buy a home.

To put a lid on apartment growth “you got to change the zoning rules but you also got to understand there’s going to be people wanting to buy houses and they can’t do it,” he said. “So the only option is apartments.”

Advisory committee selection: Several committees and commissions made up of Ogden citizens advise city officials on a range of matter and the candidates were asked about the selection process.

The issue reared its head last April when a member of the city’s Diversity Commission, Kevin Lundell, was not invited to serve another term on the body by Mayor Mike Caldwell’s administration. Lundell maintains it was backlash for an opinion piece he wrote critical of moves by some state lawmakers to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Utah universities.

Nadolski — referring neither the Lundell case nor any other specific instance — said the city needs to find more people “willing to disagree without being disagreeable” to broaden the range of views on the various bodies.

Graf said if committee members follow the applicable rules “they should be retained.” He also called for diversity — geographic and otherwise — on the varied bodies. “I think we need to cut across all ethnic, socioeconomic and diversity lines so that we’re inclusive of the complexion of the city,” he said.

Andersen echoed that, saying he doesn’t see the diversity of Ogden mirrored in city government. More intense “grassroots” recruiting efforts are needed so the city’s diversity is better represented on advisory bodies, he said.

Van Wagoner said those with critical views deserve a place on the city bodies. When committee members “have an adverse opinion, you don’t kick them off, you bring them in even more because we need to have … those discussions and deliberations to get better,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Nadolski’s comment with regard to selection of members of the city’s varied committees and commissions.