Thursday, April 07, 2011

Standard-Examiner: Hansen Announces Run for Mayor of Ogden

One of the very few honest and sincere politicians in the whole damn state

By Ozboy

I see on the Standard site that Neil Hansen has thrown his hat in the mayoral ring today:
I wish him well, he is one of the very few honest and sincere politicians in the whole damn state. Hopefully he will find the keys to the east side this time around.

16 comments:

Surprize of surprizes said...

>>>Neil Hansen has thrown his hat in the mayoral ring<<<

Surprize of surprizes

One Who Votes said...

Ozboy:

"One of the very few honest and sincere politicians in the whole damn state,"

Add to that, actually cares about and is helpful to his constituents.

RudiZink said...

Not JUST his OWN constituents. Over the years Neil Hansen has exerted extra effort to help-out one of neoCON Republican Gage Froerer's constituents -- me.

Thumbs up to Neil on his mayoral run.

One Who Votes said...

Rudi:

Not JUST his OWN constituents....one of neoCON Republican Gage Froerer's constituents.

ME TOO.

AWM said...

Any opinions on the lesser known candidates Jonny Ballard and in particular Mike Caldwell? Not really much out there on the net. Ballard does have a campaign web site up and running but not much info on it...

Neil is a good man said...

I hope Neil wins because if he wins we win

Dan Schroeder said...

Without making any sort of endorsement, let me say that I like Mike Caldwell. I've chatted with him about Ogden politics on a few occasions and he seems to understand that we need a mayor who will treat everyone with more fairness and respect than Godfrey has. I've also interacted with him several times when I've requested information about the city's RAMP applications, and for the most part he has gone out of his way to provide copies of the applications and to answer my questions. Finally, I know several people who have worked with him in organizations like Weber Pathways and the Goal Foundation, and who speak highly of him from that context.

On the other hand, he and his wife did make a $150 contribution to Godfrey's campaign in 2007.

G. Ford said...

Well then, for making a campaign donation to Godfrey, he should be lined up against the wall and SHOT, instead of being voted for.

What a ridiculous thing to post, Dan. Gee-Zust!

got down sit on a bench said...

With Neil Hansen in the race we all know this great guy and lets not trade in some old friends for some new ones that have not be tried and tested. Neil Is the man and lets all get behind him, even you Dan, he has worked with you so don't turn your back on him.

ozboy said...

Thanks Dan for the heads up on this Caldwell guy. It is this kind of "user experience" info that will help the voters make a good choice (hopefully) next November.

Hopefully a good and qualified candidate will throw their hat into the ring, someone who will stand up and call bull shit on this whole insane idea of the city's role as a high risk venture capital firm for stupid and lame business propositions. It would be great if the voters of Ogden actually had a clear cut choice between the bankrupt Godfreyite methods and sane honest and good city government that actually does what a local government is supposed to do. So far, it seems that those who have said they will run mostly appear to merely warmed over Godfreyites.

David Smith - take off your damn hat and throw it in the ring, the huddled masses of Ogden yearn to breath free!

Dorrene Jeske said...

I am glad to see Neil Hansen has joined the race for Mayor. I have worked with Neil for the last 6-7 years and I am impressed with his sincerity, honesty and his down-to-earth approach to challenges. Neil truly cares about Ogden and knows its potential for growth and economic development. He is also considerate of the taxpayers of Ogden and their problems. He will do things when the timing is right and with input from his constituents. Ogden will once again belong to the residents of Ogden.

Digger said...

Wonder how Bobby Geiger is taking all this. Keep you political enemies close but your political signs closer.

Bob Becker said...

Oz:

You wrote: "So far, it seems that those who have said they will run mostly appear to merely warmed over Godfreyites."

Well, Oz, we agree on much, but not on this. With the exception of poor Mr. Stephenson, possibly Bishoff, and definitely Hansen, I don't think we know nearly enough about the the candidates to make judgments about where they stand on a Godfrey-clone scale. [Stephenson high on the Godfrey Clone scale, Hansen low.] Not nearly enough at this point.

I also think the election will not turn on the question of "how like/unlike Godfrey is candidate X?" Anyone who bases a campaign on "I'm Not Godfrey so vote for me!" is going to lose. Undecided voters [and they're the ones who decided things in the end, usually] tend to look for something more positive than "I'm not X." As far as policies go as campaign issues, they want to know what the candidate intends to do in office. Promises that he won't do what the former mayor did isn't going to cut it. There has to be more, much more, to a successful campaign than that. "I'm not X!" can work, sometimes, but only if an incumbent is running for re-election and is monumentally unpopular going in. We don't have that situation facing us now.

got down sit on a bench said...

Yea. Ozboy, what Cum said. It does no good to blast the guy going out. What is done, is done, and now we get to move on.

ozboy said...

Mr. Curmudgeon & gdsoab

You guys may be right, for the sake of the next national election I sure hope so. It seems the only people the Republicans can put up against Obama so far are people who's main claim seems to be that they ain't Obama!

I didn't intend to group Hansen in with the rest of the crowd who still appear to me to be warmed over Godfreyites.

I think there is a lot bigger anti Godfrey sentiment in the Ogden electorate than you two apparently do. A couple of election cycles ago I recall a council election where the candidates who took a strong anti Godfrey stance were all elected after campaigns specifically centered around (We ain't Godfrey) A more recent election saw the extremely inexperience Suzy VanHooser come within a very narrow margin of beating Godfrey, which in my opinion had everything to do with the fact that she wasn't Godfrey. She had very little political or management experience and ran a mediocre campaign (in my opinion) and she still almost won. That says to me that people were plain fed up with Godfrey and were willing to take a chance on a complete unknown with no experience as long as they were not him.

Voter said...

Ozboy is absolutely correct in his above post. The scary part of this whole thing is going to be the possibility that we elect someone who really doesn't understand how to run a city like Ogden, is kinexperienced in the politics and business acumen, and decides to be a hero and replaces all of Godfrey's appointees. Some should go, but many should stay. There's much to be done to correct the wrongs and continue the rights, and somebody with an educated understanding of how the whole thing works is needed. Ozboy likes David Smith. I'd like to hear more from him, but I hear he's not overly interested. And it's possible that Godfrey's replacement will be the one to catch the blame and pay the price if the house of cards begins to collapse.

This ain't a time for amateurs, nor is it a time for professional politicians. It's time for a smart, educated person to step up and give his talents to the city.

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