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Show Volume 62 Issue 1 5 Wednesday, September 22, 1999 w E B R T A T U N V R T Y Signpost t Tin 1HE f! li n Ogden mayoral candidates present distinct ideas, personalities in question answer forum on campus By Preston McConkie asst. copy eclitor-The Signpost Four of five Ogden City mayoral candidates met in Room 328 of the Shepherd Union Building at 1 p.m. Tuesday to answer several questions put to them by political science chairman Roydon Julander. Five non-partisan candidates have entered this year's race for Ogden City mayor. An Oct. 5 primary will narrow the race to two, and the final election will be held Nov. 2. Though advertised as a debate, Tuesday's meeting was organized with the four attending candidates seated at a table on a raised platform, with Julander reading a prepared question to all of them and allowing them to take turns answering. Answers were limited to five minutes each and only three questions were asked, allowing the presentation to be completed within an hour. The event was co-sponsored by the Young Republicans. Young Democrats and political science department. ' The candidates were asked what they considered the job of mayor to be; how they would create a cooperative environment in city government: and what they planned to do to "revive the dynamic spirit" of the Ogden City Council. Candidates Dan Fressler. Matt Godfrey. Garth Day and Robert Hunter participated in person. Candidate Dan McMahon sent copies of a one-page statement for attendants to read. The candidates presented a contrasting spectrum of personalities and images. Fessler, wearing conservative trousers and a tie, wore a work-style plaid shirt with no sport coat. He described himself as "a citizen's candidate." He said he didn't have much experience in politics besides one narrowly-lost race for Ogden City Council two years ago. When asked about how to revive city spirit, he replied with a slogan. "Some people look at things the way they are and ask 'Why?' Others look at things the way they should be and say "Why not?'" Fessler said he moved to Ogden from Los Angeles just one week before the 1994 riots. He left to escape congestion and crime, he said. But the move held some surprises. "I've either witnessed or been victim to a lot of crime here," he said. "In fact, I saw more crime in my first two years here than in my whole life in California." Fessler said he had little experience in politics, but wanted to bring a "regular citizen's perspective" to city government. Matt Godfrey stressed his track record in business, which he said had involved him with the finance and development side of Ogden's government. In particular, he said, the mayor was in charge of a budget of at least $41 million, personnel, sponsoring bills that went to the city council, and setting the tone as on -l fr" '"T. ?, sri k. i? , ' " ;' s ' ' $ 7 li fe Miki "We all want to have pride in our community. The problem is, there's no place to shop and people don't feel safe." Matthew Godfrey "I saw more crime in my first two years here than in my whole life in California." Dan Fessler . - n --4' ' ' .J "We need to sell ourselves on what a great place this is to live." Garth Day and pace of government. "I'm concerned we've lost touch with the people of Ogden and government has taken a wrong turn," he said. "A few years ago, Ogden City asked the people if they wanted to build a mall down town, and they said no. They built the mall ,,,,,.,,,.,.,1.11,, ,,,,,,. . u, ,yy. I.IIIIIJy.yil mm-. I t ' "I believe in getting things done by joining hands instead of waving fists." Robert Hunter anyway. Then they asked the people if they wanted a conference center. The people said no, but the Eccles conference center was built." "We need to make some tough decisions, listen to the voice of the See Race page 3 Campus child-care service helps parents By Emily Hoggan news writer-The Signpost Weber State University is home to a well-kept secret, the Child Care Resource and Referral program. CCR&R is a free service that helps students and parents in the community find quality child care. Leslie Troltier. community services coordinator for CCR&R, said the program is designed to give parents comfort and peace of mind when choosing care for their children. "Nobody ever taught us how to pick child care," Trottier said. "Parents really need to go shopping."When parents contact CCR&R. they are given a brief 15-minute phone session. CCR&R gathers information re garding individual child-care needs and provides the names and numbers of child-care providers who can best meet the parent and child needs. CCR&R has a database of more than 400 child-care providers in the area. Parents are welcome to call back as often as necessary to accommodate their changing child-care requirements.Child care is an area few parents plan for and one that can become expensive, especially for Weber State University students.Trottier also said it can be challenging for students to find adequate child care due to their college schedule. Most child care providers are only licensed to care for a certain number of children and would rather care for a child full time than for a few hours a day. ' See Child Care page 10 Resolution could put 'free ' back in free gift By Leo Dirr campus affairs editor-The Signpost The Jamba Juice bouncy balls that were given out the first week of school have made such an impression at Weber State University that they're being brought up in student senate. "Any student at the university should be able to get all the free bouncy balls they want," said Todd Rose, Davis Campus student senator during senate Monday. "But if a vendor is going to offer gifts, they have to be free." Rose's resolution would establish a rule that vendors who offer free gifts on campus could not place conditions on those gifts. For example, a vendor from a credit card company who yells, "Hey, did you get your free gift?" would have to give the "gift" to any student who wanted it, but the student wouldn't be obligated to apply for the credit card to receive the "gift." Rose's resolution would also raise the fee that vendors pay the university for the right to solicit students from $50 to $250. The resolution would limit the number and location of vendor tables. Additionally, the resolution would set a maximum initial credit line of $500 offered by credit card vendors. "If you're a student who hates being solicited, you'll know where vendors will be and you can avoid them," Rose said. "If you're a student who's a member of ARO Association of Registered Organizations, your organization will have more money to spend." The resolution would change the way vendors' fees are distributed to campus organizations. In the past, Nancy Collinwood, coordinator for student organizations, has used a method she described as "pulling the names of organizations out of a hat" to choose which group would have the opportunity to sponsor a vendor who had contacted her. The sponsoring organization received the $50 vendor fee. Rose's resolution would abolish such fortuitous practices. Instead, vendors would not be sponsored by specific organizations, and the $250 vendor fee would go into a "general fund." Registered organizations could apply for money in the general fund on a first-come-first-served basis. This change may be viewed as progress by the administration. During the senate meeting, Anand Dyal-Chand. vice president of student affairs, said the university has a policy that prohibits outside vendors from See Free page 3 Editorial I TT I Features ; It must have gained fi Members of the Greek , .. siipiething u the Syster donate their translation... ,4. ''" ' . . time Ani efforts to feed f the homeless. See page 4 t ' See page 9 r'1 r ,7 Sports F Jason Allen is named ' ; Big Sky Defense'" ' " -gj ' Player of the Wet- See page 14 - ' ( t www.weber.edusignpost |