Meet the Mayor Candidates

by Allison Jones

Last night there was a lively forum with Rexburg's candidates for mayor at the Romance Theater. There are three people running for the position. Donna Benfield has spent ten years on the city council and has owned her own retail business for twenty-three years and wants to focus on keeping the family community feel to Rexburg while growing smartly. Erick Salcedo is a student of BYU-I and wants to focus on encouraging American ideals and values. And finally, Richard Woodland has been the mayor for the past two years, has cut spending by $500,000 during his tenure, and wants to focus on helping Rexburg grow.

Questions were gathered from the Standard Journal's editorial staff, those submitted to the paper on-line, and the audience. The publisher of the Standard Journal was the moderator.

1. What do you bring to the table?
   Donna Benfield said that she brought her experience running a successful business. She also pointed out that the City Council is responsible for most of the city's improvements.
   Erick Salcedo has studied economics and politics and says that government is not a business and should stay out of the way of the city's businesses.
   Richard Woodland said that he had already been helping Rexburg's finances, responded to emergencies, and made suggestions to the City Council that have improved the city.
2. Does Rexburg need a chief financial officer and a full time mayor?
   All of the candidates agreed that both positions were necessary. Benfield expanded her answer to say that with a five million dollar budget we need someone the keep an eye on it and being mayor is already a full-time job. Woodland believes that the mayor ought to rely on experts to make sure each issue is dealt with well.
3. Your thoughts on Rexburg Rapids and if you would finish out the projects still to be finished?
   None of the candidates were opposed to Rexburg Rapids and finishing the planned projects though Salcedo thought that it could have been better planned and partnering with the private sector would have saved money.
4. The growth of BYU-I and the issues surrounding having 50,000 seasonal residents.
   Benfield answered that there is already a plan in place to accommodate the school's expansion. Also there need to be more jobs available, and hopefully some industry can be enticed to Rexburg as well as more retail stores. Mostly the city needs to stay ahead of the community's needs.
   Salcedo thinks that more students will be staying here year round and that we need to get the students shopping in Rexburg. Currently 63% of business from the students is lost to Idaho Falls. He also thinks that we need to try new strategies to bring new businesses to Rexburg.
   Woodland believes that if we can get more technology based jobs moved into Rexburg then we wouldn't lose as many people to jobs and businesses in Idaho Falls.
5. The relationship and communication between Rexburg and BYU-I and the students.
   While all the candidates agree that the relations between the city and the university are good, Woodland asserts that they have improved while he has been in office, Benfield thinks that a new BYU-I student advisory board would be helpful, and Salcedo believes that the city to be more direct in its outreach to students and also to stay out of their lives.
6. Would it be a good idea to rotate out department heads?
   This was a new idea to the candidates but Benfield thought it would keep them on their toes while Salcedo and Woodland thought that is was unnecessary.
7. Shouldn't we be worried about the economic depression the nation is in?
   Each of the candidates pointed out that BYU-I is still growing and that the city should take advantage of the growing student population.
8. Road Repairs
   Richard Woodland said that there are already plans in place to evaluate and maintain the roads and that they are working just fine.
   Donna Benfield said that she has spent the last year researching and creating a plan to inventory the roads and repair them systematically.
   Erick Salcedo wants to reduce traffic and wear on the roads by promoting shuttle services and have a systematic repair plan.
9. What are your opinions of Rexburg's new skyline with high density housing?
   Benfield answered that high density housing was good for around campus but that it should stay out of the established neighborhoods. She also said that the apartment complexes to offer shuttle services since they do not have as much room for students to bring their own cars.
   Salcedo believes it is an inevitable development due to the growth of the school and agrees with Benfield that there should be shuttle services and that they need to be planned to preserve existing neighborhoods.
   Woodland said that they take advantage of existing infrastructure and thus save the city money. Also he is a fan of the underground parking planned for some of these new complexes but believes the school and city still need to work on providing more parking available to the students since they are not going to stop bringing their cars with them to school.
10. What is the issue you are most passionate about?
    Salcedo wants to focus on joining the local and student populations and encouraging values and civic participation.
    Woodland would focus on sustainable economic growth and providing more recreation opportunities in town. He is in favor of building an indoor pool if the people will vote for a bond to pay for it.
    Benfield wants to keep the feel and spirit of Rexburg while planning for expansion.

In conclusion Richard Woodland says that his is doing a good job already, Erick Salcedo wants to teach values to the youth, and Donna Benfield plans make the changes the voters told her they wanted while she was canvassing homes.