The council oversees the city’s over $260M budget, considers ordinances that can change your neighborhood’s design, and manages things like how and when your garbage gets picked up. Their power dictates the types of businesses and development that drive economic opportunities, or limits where a business can operate. Additionally, they can be held accountable for the conditions of your parks, streets, and sidewalks. And in our city, the quality of the water and sewer service is also part of their responsibilities. Oh, and don’t forget the budget allocation for the police and fire departments.

It is quite a wide array of authority that should be taken very seriously by people who have the best interests of the residents at heart. And I can say that as I have served District 1, the people I have served with all come to the position with good intentions, even if we do not always agree on how to do so. I have been honored to get to know my fellow council members and serve with them.

I never thought of myself as someone who would run for elected office. But as I became more involved locally by attending council meetings, I felt I had a new perspective to bring to the conversation. And this is one reason why I believe that term limits could be an important mechanism to create a broader scope of experiences and perspectives within the council. Some people say that the voters get to decide who is limited in their number of years of service, which is true. However, there are some compelling reasons to establish two terms of service (eight years) as policy:

• Making space for other voices: Here is a certain amount of grace a person demonstrates by allowing space for other people to serve, because along with name recognition, incumbents have a clear advantage due to the networks they have built in the community.
• Ensuring elected officials are held accountable: When there is a limited time to serve, an elected feels a sense of urgency to live up to their campaign commitments.
• Serving in other ways: Being in one elected seat is not the sole way a person can contribute to a community’s well-being. There are other types of elected roles to consider as well as service on boards or with other local projects.

I have learned so much throughout my tenure about how the different governmental systems work and how things get done. From my perspective, it would be ideal to have more people in the community with that same experience and knowledge. We need to continue to work together to become a more civically-engaged community. Mentoring and supporting new candidates has become a passion of mine, and I would not have known this if not for my own experience in service to the public.

I hope that I have been able to represent you well, Ogden. And I will still be here fighting for the best for every one even if I am not your council representative. Thank you for your support and trust for all of these years.

Angela Choberka is in her second term of office on the Ogden City Council.