September 10, 2009

Dear Neighbor of District 5,

As the date of the Primary elections, September 15th, draws closer I feel it is important for you to know who I am, why I’m running, and what I want to do as your representative on the city council. I apologize if I was not able to visit you personally. I have lived in Utah County for over 20 years. I have been married and a homeowner in Provo for a little over two of those years. My wife and I love our home and are excited to welcome our first child in February. I graduated from Brigham Young University and currently work as an accounting assistant for a small business. I also do human resources consulting on the side. The rest of my time is spent being a Varsity Coach for the Boy Scouts of America and helping my wife beautify our yard.

I decided to become involved in Provo politics because I began to see the devastating impact of career politicians in our city. Every day we read that businesses are leaving Provo. I have been told by my friends and neighbors that they regret buying a home in Provo. Both business owners and my neighbors say it is because of invasive, cumbersome legislation that does nothing to protect their lives, liberty, and property. It saddens me to know that these individuals feel driven out of Provo by bureaucrats; bureaucrats who, for the past decade, feel that they know better than you what you need.

I believe that government is solely a defender of our individual rights rather than some entity that grants us privileges as it sees fit. I demonstrated this belief in February when I strongly opposed restrictive zoning legislation for my neighborhood. The proposal was to be considered before the council on the voice of seven people that, if passed, would have affected more than a thousand citizens. With the help of other concerned individuals in the neighborhood we were able to get over 220 residents to sign a petition opposing the measure. I believe that many of our zoning problems could be solved if our neighborhood chairs were accountable to who they represent. I support requiring mandatory elections of neighborhood chairs every two years.

In October, the council is considering limiting the number of windows businesses can have in Downtown Provo. I didn’t know we paid taxes so that our council representatives could count windows! Furthermore, even if we don’t rent out our home, it is illegal to have two kitchens in our home. For those who enjoy canning or desire to start a small catering business from home such a law is ridiculous and financially devastating to those who cannot afford to tear their second kitchen out.

Unlike what the city council chair and vice chair did on August 28th I will never create a new position in government without your opinion, adequate funding, and backing by constitutional principles. I wish to know why our own district representative on the council has said nothing condemning paying another government official $40/hr without public opinion and what reason there was to vote for a bonus for the council when we already have a $5 million deficit!

To adjust for the budget deficit I would support cutting wasteful spending on programs that only benefit a few. Though it may be tempting for me to start stating all the programs I advocate cutting I would believe your input is equally important in budget decisions.

More important than counting windows or finding ways to gain more power, we need safer streets for citizens of all ages. I advocate that we need to install more street lighting, more stop signs, more crosswalks and other safety measures so that we can all feel safe walking around Provo. We also need to provide the mayor with the funding necessary to have an exceptional police and fire department. We are terribly understaffed in our Police Department and the growing presence of vandalism and gangs is evidence of that. I support spreading lower income housing throughout the city rather than just our district. Our neighborhoods are quickly becoming ghettos. We must ensure that those of lower economic standing are spread out in environments where they have a better chance of improving their own lives.

Our council incumbent argues that owner occupancy of homes lowers crime rates. By that same logic I could argue that lawn gnomes cause grass to grow. Just because the number of homeowners and low crimes are seen in close proximity to one another does not say one definitively caused the other to occur. It is that line of thinking that has caused many problems in our District over the past 12 years. I advocate that much can be done on the side of law enforcement that will make neighborhoods safe enough for people to want to own a home in Provo.

I want you to know that I always try to make myself available. As your representative, I will continue to update my website. On my own time, I will create online discussion forums so that I can hear your input on upcoming legislation. I strongly support removing the bureaucratic jargon from the city council agendas that have long stood as a barricade for anyone wanting to know what is going on in the city. I cannot force you to become involved in the everyday workings of Provo government. But I would like to provide you the means to get involved if you so desire.

We need families to stay in Provo, but we cannot get people to stay without guaranteeing them, business owners, and ourselves those basic individual rights of life, liberty, and property.

I would be honored to have your vote September 15th.

In Liberty,

Robert S Oscanyan II
Candidate for Provo City Council District 5