OCR Text |
Show Former Orem Mayor runs on Demo ticket E James E. Mangum, former Orem 1 1 r, is a candidate for the I, four-year Utah County Commission ,, post on the Democratic ticket, jj : ; Mr. Mangum served as mayor of Orem for 10 years, during which he ; served as chairman of Mountain- ; lands Association of Government .j and on various advisory committees J n both the county and state level. Mr. Mangum says he filed as a f Democrat although he has never been affiliated with any party (city races in Orem are non-partisian) because he strongly believes in the two-party system of government. "I don't believe any public official ought to go back into office without opposition. It provides a platform from which issues can be debated because an incumbent ought to account for what he has done in office, and that can happen only when there is opposition," he said. He said he believes without the two-party system of government it is no different from a Communist country. "I think there should be representation of both parties on the commission in order to maintain balance. If there is only one faction, no matter which party, it leads to mis-trust of government, no matter how honest the men or women are who serve," he said. Mr. Mangum said Jje has served as a member of the Council on Criminal Justice, as a member of the Utah State Health Systems Agency, and a member of the board of the Provo-Jordan River Parkway Authority. Currently he is chairman (Continued on page 2) ; James Mangum "For instance," he says, "Orem citizens pay five mills for fire protection, and residents of the unincorporated area we serve pay .25 mills. The County Commissioners take the .25 mills, give Orem City a portion, then put the balance into the general fund. This is the way it is (Continued from page 1) ; ' " He cites his experience in farming, ranching, education and business and government in his bid for county ? commissioner. : ; ; ; Mr. Mangum; feels good " local government is basic to the preservation preserva-tion of the American way of life, and believes the county commissioners are elected by. all the people and . should represent all, not just serve as representatives of the unincor- . porated areas. He also believes double taxation in areas such as fire fighting and the county jail should be eliminated, and sees this as a challenge along with the problem of duplication of services. with each city, and I don't buy that approach." "Thev collect $11,000 from those people and give Orem $3,500 of it back. If it costs only $3,500 to fight ' their fires, why are the rest of the people being taxed six to three?" he - ! said. ' He believes the county's fire fighting needs have changed and that adjustments need to be made .. with the cities to show these changes. Mr. Mangum also cited the fact if a person is arrested in American Fork, for example, and needs to be taken to the Utah County Jail, residents pay so much a day in addition to what has been assessed through the mill levy. He feels this is also an area of double taxation for the city residents. |