Nathan Martin is a candidate running for the Rexburg City Council. He sat down with BYU-Idaho Radio to discuss his candidacy and what drives him to run for a seat. You can find more on Nathan Martin by going to his Facebook page. Election day is November 7. Below is a transcript of the interview with Martin. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
Chandler: So, let's start with this question. Why are you running?
Nathan Martin: Well, I'm running because, quite simply, I've seen some things that could go a lot better in this city, in our small community here, and I wanted to improve them. It's kind of like when you see a piece of trash on the ground in a hallway or along the street, you just feel obligated to pick it up. And that's what I'm doing, wanting to clean stuff up and make the city more efficient and better for everyone.
Chandler: And what would you say that you bring to the table that other candidates don't?
Nathan Martin: Well, I think what I bring to a table is I'll be looking at this from a logical perspective. Some other candidates look at it more of “What the government can do for you?”, and I look at as “What can the government do to not get in your way?” It's just one of those things that, quite simply, we can't have the government creating red tape, increasing pricing houses, especially here, with regards to long term residents and students. The price of housing is up significantly over the last four years here in Rexburg. And the only way to solve that is to allow people to build, which means less government intervention.
Chandler: And if you were elected, what would you focus on?
Nathan Martin: Well, I'd focus on improving our much-needed infrastructure so that way we can have higher density, so more apartments, because apartments lower the cost of living for people to bring in more developers. It's a really boring thing, but it's really what's needed so we can have better quality of life and more livability here.
Chandler: And what would you say is the number one issue facing Rexburg right now, and how would you go about solving that?
Nathan Martin: I'd say the number one issue, as I've stated already, is our housing crisis. Our prices are going up. They're not going down anytime soon. And people keep saying there'll be a pop, there'll be a pop with the housing bubble. And I'm like, I don't want to rely on that. I want to rely on us being self-reliant, as we're taught to be, and to make it so developers can come in. There are lots of developers who want to invest in Rexburg, if only the city would work with them and give them the resources they need. I just met a lovely couple the other day living off of Airport Road, here in town. They have 50 acres of land, and guess what, they want to develop. They want to build there, but the city is stopping them. I want to remove those hurdles so we can have a livable community where we don't have to take on debt just to live day to day.
Chandler: And how would you go about removing those hurdles, suggesting a solution to that problem?
Nathan Martin: Yeah, for sure. One of the largest problems right now is the zoning application process. Once again, a very boring thing. But essentially right now, you have to pay $500 to the city if you want your land rezoned. So maybe it's zoned light industrial. So essentially agriculture right now, and you want to put maybe condos on it, or apartments or even single-family homes. You have to pay $500 to your city after coming up with a proposed plan, and that doesn't even guarantee it'll be done. Most likely it's going to be rejected. You have to go back to the drawing board, figure out what you did wrong, go back to your city and repeat this process multiple times. I like to say in the Bible, God created the earth in seven days. I see no reason why we can't rezone something for houses in seven days.
Chandler: So, if you got a chance to sit down with someone one on one, like we're doing now, a voter, what would you say to them?
Nathan Martin: I would tell them, look at not what you want, but what you need. A popular issue in the community has been the desire for a community rec center. I know BYU-I already provides some facilities that aren't necessarily the most open to the community. They are during some times, but there's been this desire for a city rec center. I was like, I'd ask, “Can you bear the cost of that?” And when a lot of people say, “Oh, that's just the property owners will pay that it's just property tax, I just rent.” Well, who do you think they pass that cost on to the renter? So, it's to be careful when you're looking at your wants and look at our needs first.
Chandler: Where can people go to find more information about you and your campaign?
Nathan Martin: Yeah, for sure, people can definitely check out the Rexburg Patriots Facebook page. I actually am quite active on there as I am a member of the Rexburg Patriots news group with that.I do post a lot of my ideas direct on there because I prefer engaging direct with voters instead of just putting up a copy, paste website with generic answers as generic answers aren't truthful.
Chandler: Is there anything else that you want to touch on before we close out the interview today?
Nathan Martin: Well, I would just like to remind everyone listening who does go to Brigham Young University-Idaho, that if you're, a U.S. citizen, have lived in Rexburg for 30 days and are able to get a Rexburg drivers license, you can actually vote in our local election, come here, November 7. I encourage you to do so.
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To view the Candidate Q&A for another candidate, please select their name below:
City Council:
Brian Thackeray
Mayor:
Jerry Merrill