Mike Glasscock is running to be the next mayor of Rexburg. In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, he discussed how he would address the biggest issue facing Rexburg right now, as well as why he would be the right man for the job. For more information about Mike Glasscock and his campaign, you can send him an email at mike@glasscock.net. Elections are on November 7. Below is the transcript of that interview. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
Chandler: Let's start with this question. Why are you running?
Mike Glasscock: I've lived in Rexburg for about ten years. I'm very interested in politics and the politics of Rexburg. I see Rexburg as a growth city. It has a lot of potential, and I'm excited about growth. I think it's something that we should really embrace. And the reason that I'm running is that I want to have a say, a seat at the table, if you will, at how it grows. Because we can decide how our city is going to grow, but I'm not sure we can decide whether or not it's going to grow. It's going to grow whether we want it to or not. And so, if we take some planning steps now and we look into the future and we try to decide how and where we want our city to grow, I think we'll all be a lot better off.
Chandler: And why should people vote for you, do you think?
Mike Glasscock: Well, they should vote for me because of those exact same reasons. Because we want to have a city that is good for everybody, that we can have kids, sports, that we can have a place for moms to take their toddlers, that we can have a city that's well laid out, well thought out. A city that looks into the future and sees what kind of amenities that are going to be necessary and needed in the future, and we can plan for them now.
Chandler: What do you have that other candidates don't bring to the table?
Mike Glasscock: Well, I have a lot of experience in life, just from living so long, I guess. I don't want to say that I am a lot better than the other candidates. Jerry Merrill, I think, has done a good job as mayor, and I don't want to be divisive or cause any kind of contention. I don't think that that's at all beneficial for our city. It's just a different direction, I think.
Chandler: If you were elected, what would you focus on as mayor?
Mike Glasscock: Well, like I said in the last well, it wasn't really a debate. It was kind of a meet and greet the candidates that the chamber of commerce put on. I would focus on planning. I would focus on laying out a plan for the future that would extend 15, 20, 40, 50 75 years into the future so that we don't run into problems like putting roads through people's houses and having to buy lawns from church buildings so that we could put a road in, and so on.
Chandler: And you talked about really wanting to take the city in a different direction, maybe a little bit of a different direction. If you got elected, what is one thing that you would change, maybe, that the city is doing right now that you would change?
Mike Glasscock: Well, right now, the city seems to be building a lot of apartments and, as I said before, we have (BYU-Idaho) students and we need apartments, but I don't think we need so many. We need to have more, what I call traditional neighborhoods. And when I say that what I mean is neighborhoods of detached single-family dwellings and with parks. I don't think that we've been doing that. Now, apartments make the city a lot of money in taxes, and so they like to have apartments because we need the money. So, we have some expenses that are coming up and we're going to need to be able to finance those things. But in the long run, I think that we could go away from apartments more to single-family dwellings if we can get clean industry here, because we need the jobs. You can't really build a city just by building houses. You have to have someplace for people to work and make a living. And then, there are spillover benefits into that with other businesses that pop up to accommodate the people that are working in the new industry. And so it's kind of like putting a puzzle together, and it's interesting.
Chandler: Perhaps you already answered this question a little bit previously, but what is one issue that you see facing Rexburg right now and what is your solution to combat that?
Mike Glasscock: Yeah, the apartments, the lack of planning. My solution is to bring the citizens of Rexburg together, to inform them, to let them know what's going on in their city, and to have them help in the planning situation.
Chandler: And how do you plan to bring people together to do that?
Mike Glasscock: Yeah, that's an interesting question. I prefer to talk to people one-on-one, or in small groups. We could do large groups, but we have to somehow get the message out. And it's difficult to do that in today's world where people are not as likely as they were in past years to read a newspaper. There's kind of a diminishing interest in going to city councils. It's a difficult thing. One of the reasons is doing radio spots like this, that would help. But I think that we're going to need some kind of one-on-one time where the mayor can sit down and talk with individuals who want to participate. And what I would suggest is having office hours where once or twice a week people can just come in and talk to the mayor. You can have an appointment or not have an appointment, and you can sit down, and you can have an exchange of ideas. It could be informative to them. And as you inform a few people in the community, hopefully the word gets out and more people have a better idea of what's going on.
Chandler: And just in closing, what message do you have to voters?
Mike Glasscock: The message that I have to voters is that you're very lucky to be in Rexburg. It's a wonderful city. It's worth putting your effort into. It's worth being a part of and working towards a better future for Rexburg.
Chandler: And where can people go to find more information about you and your campaign?
Mike Glasscock: Yeah, if you want to get a hold of me, it's mike@glasscock.net. That's my email. I don't have a particular website. You can go to the Chamber of Commerce meet and greet. I think I did a gathering there where we talked about the different issues that are coming up and if you email me, I'll try to get back to you.
Chandler: Anything else that you would like to touch on and talk about before we close?
Mike Glasscock: No, I think that that's it. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to come in and talk to you and appreciate the invitation to try to get the word out.
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