candidates

Two at-large seats:

Incumbent Steve Thompson is being challenged by Chris R. Laurence and Paul Morgan.

Incumbent Tami W. Pyfer will face Marc M. Karpowich, former councilman Tom Kerr and Ryan Yonk.

- LOGAN - In the months since two-term Logan Mayor Douglas Thompson said he won't seek re-election, five candidates have emerged to run for this northern Utah city's top office.

They are Peter G. Brunson, 61; Valcris O. Ewell Jr., 70; Steven Taylor, 50; Randy Watts, 57, and Steve Woods, 45.

A lifelong Logan resident, Brunson is a retired mechanical designer, graphic artist and photographer who worked at Space Dynamics Lab and taught engineering graphics at USU. In retirement, he has volunteered over the past two years to broadcast live City Council meetings via a local Comcast TV channel.

Brunson said his observations at those meetings inspired him to run, unsuccessfully, for City Council in 2003 - and now for mayor.

“I've noticed some things in the city that I think we should do differently,” Brunson said. “The lack of public input is a really big concern. Finding what the people want and are willing to pay for is what representative government is all about."

Candidate Ewell, a widower with five children, moved to Logan in 1994, and has served as trustees president of the Cache Valley Boys and Girls Club. He has had a varied career, but most recently was a deputy assistant secretary of the Army.

Ewell said he is “dedicated to making a difference in Logan" and wants more-clearly defined roles and responsibilities of city officials. And he hopes to direct Logan's planning efforts while eliminating debt.

“I've been griping about the management of the city ever since I got here and thought, if I was going to continue griping about it, I better step up to the line,” Ewell said.

Taylor is midway through his four-year term as a city councilman. He said he decided to run once Thompson announced that he wouldn't run again. If elected, Taylor said he would have an open-door policy to improve communication between the mayor, City Council and residents.

Balancing the budget while attending to the community's critical "needs" - as well as the “wants” - requires collaborative communication, he said.

“I don't think we listen enough. The priorities of the constituents would be the very most important thing,” he said. “If you don't have a mayor and administration that work in unison with the council for the priorities of the constituents, we're going to have unhappy citizens.”

Watts is a lifelong Logan resident who owns a construction company and has worked in his family's lumber business for 15 years. He studied business administration and history at USU and served for 21 years on the Beaver Mountain Ski Patrol.

Watts, an interim Logan City Council member for four months in 2003, said he cares deeply about the community and will work hard to “ensure our quality of life.”

“I have lived in this beautiful city for 57 years,” he said. “With input from the citizens of Logan and the help of the employees of the city, we can work together on balancing the budget and preparing Logan for the future.”

Woods is president of S & P Woods Enterprises, which operates a House Doctors Handyman Service franchise in Cache, Rich, Box Elder and Franklin counties.

He studied business at Sacramento State University in California.

He said holding public office is "an honorable thing that citizens must do, and, if elected, I'll bring back to Logan's government a sense of civility.”

“I don't mind constructive disagreements. That's healthy. But when it gets beyond that point, it doesn't do anybody any good,” Woods said.

abrunson@sltrib.com