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Show Five years ago, the dynamics of the automotive industry in Utah enabled Jerry Washburn to seli his Orem automobile dealerships, and accept a call by his church to serve as president of the L.D.S. Mission in San Diego, California. Returning home, after serving for three years in San Diego, he was named by Mayor Joseph A. Nelson as chairman of the new ad hoc committee on Orem Neighborhood Organizations, whose recommendations the Orem City Council implemented in 1999. Following the tragic death of Mayor in 1999, Jerry Washburn was then urged by many citizens to become a candidate for Mayor of Orem. Garnering overwhelming voter support in both the primary and the final elections, Washburn was sworn in as Mayor of Orem on January 3, 2000, to serve a two-year two-year term. Having retired from the business world at the relatively young age of 55, Jerry Washburn finds himself in the unique position of being elected to a part-time position as Mayor, in which he can now devote the necessary time to Orem and fulfill all the duties of that office. Jerry's grandfather, Orem's first new-car dealer, A. Verd Washburn, set a notable pattern of community service for him, when he served as a member of the Orem Town Board of Trustees from 1930 through 1933. Jerry, himself, may have been, unconsciously, looking forward to his present municipal assignment, since he was educated in the Orem public schools. He graduated from Orem High School, and also graduated from Brigham Young University, with a degree in Political Science. As a native of Orem, Jerry Washburn has seen this community grow from an agricultural town of some 8,500 people to a moderate-sized metropolis, nearing 90,000 people. During his entire adult life, he has been involved in Orem civic affairs. As an outgrowth of that experience, he has become concerned about our quality of life in Orem, and has enunciated those concerns: 1 . We must preserve and enhance the quality of life of each citizen and family. Neighborhoods must be insulated from unnecessary, unplanned commercial encroachment. We must support our public safety departments in crime prevention. Parks and recreation facilities must be more fully developed. We must preserve green space. State Street must be beautified. Existing business must be supported. 2. We must solve problems at the grass roots level through better dialogue between the city and its citizens. We must give vision, training and support to our citizens. Neighborhoods provide opportunities to identify human asset capabilities. They foster leadership training, and they enhance the feeling of harmony in community-based service. 3. We must anticipate and manage the effects of growth through better planning and infrastructure development. We must ensure safer neighborhoods through better-lighted and safer streets, and through better traffic management. We must refine and follow our strategic and general plan. Some people have said that Jerry Washburn is truly "an Orem Mayor for the Millennium." He is diplomatic, and has the executive experience to bring people together in difficult situations and to solve problems in harmony. He has had the experience of being an independent businessman in the City of Orem, and understands budgeting, cost controls and employee relations. He has the ability to see the big picture in decision-making. He is able to gather and process complete information, and can assist others in that exercise. Above all, I know that Jerry Washburn loves Orem and wants to do what is best for the good of the city and its people. With the challenges and opportunities that loom on the horizon for the City of Orem in the new millennium, I believe Mayor Jerry Washburn's best years are yet ahead of him, as he guides the city and its people into the new world of the future. Jerry C. Washburn is the 20 Mayor of Orem whom I know and admire! Page 92 |