Austin Raymond for Ogden City Council
Preserve Ogden's Beauty
Ogden is blessed with so much natural beauty, and it deserves to be protected. Future generations deserve to have as much access to our parks and trails as the previous generations have had. As a member of the City Council I will work to invest in our parks, protect our natural area from needless development, and ensure that our natural areas are kept safe and beautiful. This can range from building new parks, restricting development around existing natural areas, and stopping the destruction of the Wildlife Sanctuary the city is trying to pave over.
Protect Union Station
Union Station is a wonderful part of Ogden's history, and it deserves to be embraced as such, not left to dust. I firmly believe that Union Station's future should be much like its past. On the City Council I would fight to make sure that Union Station is kept in good shape, and make sure that Union Station is the hub of any transportation future in Ogden. Union Station should be a hub for public transportation, the hub of future rail development in the Wasatch Front, and a place that embodies the great past and future of Ogden. Under no circumstances should Union Station be turned into a place for living, or left to be little more than a museum.
Improve Public Transportation
I love driving, but it's clear to anyone that does that driving through or around Ogden can sometimes be a herculean task. As gas prices and inflation continue to get worse, it's becoming more and more expensive to drive, and harder and harder for those who don't own a vehicle to get one. I believe investing in smart and efficient public transportation helps the health of a community, and helps make everyone capable of success. I would work with expert and the rest of the council if elected to improve our lacking public transportation infrastructure in Ogden. Improving and adding bus stop locations, adding light rail options to downtown, improving bus only lanes to help them avoid traffic, and working with our neighboring communities to bring these amenities to them, and working with the state to improve rail access to the whole state, with Ogden as a hub. I'll work to make sure as well that this system is self-sufficient, and receives the resources it needs to be clean, safe, and fast. I'll also work as hard as I can to make sure these things are built as quick as possible, in America it shouldn't take multiple years to add a lane to a street. At the end of the day improving public transportation gives back to the citizens the most valuable thing, time.
Transparency
It feels like there is no shortage of scandals that rock the city due to one simple reason, a lack of transparency. The city feels short on explanations for why it does the things it does. From strange development decisions, how the city picks developers, plans in the city budget , the Ogden Police point system, and the destruction of the Wildlife Sanctuary. It's clear that the city is not honest enough with its citizens, and an elected government should never behave towards its citizens like this city often does. If elected to the council I will work hard to be as transparent as possible, and make sure the city reflects that. You have a right to know what the city is doing and why, and you have a right to know that the city is doing what is best for you. I'm not a fan of taxes, no one is, and since the city is funded with your hard earned money, it serves you, and you should no what we're doing with every penny, and critique it.
My Promise to You
I'm not running because I want to be someone, I'm running because I want to do work. Being your elected representative is an honorable job, and I don't take that lightly. I am there to fight for you, and improve the city for you. It's time for the City Council to stand up, and claw powers it has ceded to random city development agencies, and bring it back to where it belongs, the people who answer to you. Once at a City Council meeting, in response to an issue I had, I was told "There's nothing we can do about that." no elected official should have to give such an answer, and I promise you I never will. Being on the council means I'm paid with tax payer dollars, with your money, this is not a free ride and shouldn't be viewed like any other paycheck, and I won't view it that way. I'm the poorest one in the race, I've worked customer support jobs, I've worked delivery jobs, I understand the importance and work that goes into not just every dollar, but every penny. On the city council I will work constantly, and I will work hard, to earn every single penny I am paid, and I pledge to you that while I'm on my council I will give everything, even if I have nothing to give but my Blood, Sweat and Time. Because that is what YOU DESERVE.