Voter Guide: Christian Ashcraft
- Website: https://christianashcraft.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianAshcraftForMayor
- Twitter: @Ashcraft4Mayor or https://x.com/Ashcraft4Mayor
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianashcraftformayor
Interview Transcript:
Reporter: We'll start just with you telling us a little bit about yourself.
Ashcraft: Okay. Well, so I grew up in Hamer, Idaho, and just on my family farm, and I basically have gone to school for public administration both at BYU, Idaho and at BYU. Started a food truck during my undergrad in Rexburg, and it's still kind of running that on a part time basis here in Idaho Falls. I've worked for the city of Ammon, the city of Orem, and the city of Idaho Falls in the mayor's office most recently. And, you know, since I kind of left that position, I've been helping my my family farm, essentially, and they've been kind of looking for the right opportunity to get back into being involved with local government because that that really is kind of what I'm passionate about.
Reporter: It sounds like you're used to running businesses and just that sort of thing. What inspired you to run for office?
Ashcraft: So like you said, I came from BYU, BYU for my master's, and I started a new job in public as a as a economic development administrator for the city of Idaho Falls in the mayor's office. And I think before before I came into that position, I was probably in the same boat as a lot of public servants and elected officials, where I kind of felt like, you know, there's there's just some people you can't please and there's some people who will just never trust and be happy with what your decisions are. And that would just kind of be it. But when I during my job, I think I saw some things and, you know, I just had personal experiences that made me think, well, you know, seeing this from just my perspective, not knowing everything else that's behind it, there were some things that were concerning to me and that I felt like, you know, I would that kind of violates my trust as a resident to feel like the local government is doing a really good job. Now, I won't say that I believe everyone in there is like malicious and out to get people and they're super corrupt. But I do think that as they kind of are up against some barriers that sometimes they do try to find will. What's the easiest way we can get something done? And sometimes that goes around the public approval process and sometimes that's, you know, just benefiting a certain group of people and it just doesn't have that input. So that's really what I want to help to fix, to make it a fair process that is truly represents the the public opinion for the whole city.
Reporter: So transparency?
Ashcraft: Transparency is huge. And I'm careful with that word because to me transparency is just I lay all the stuff out so you can see it, but I think we kind of need to go beyond that and say, you know what? We're we're making it. So it's just not available to you, but we're making sure it's something you can understand. It's plain and it's something that an everyday resident can take and spend, you know, 30 minutes on and look at and say, you know, I feel like I can make an informed contribution as I'm voting or just doing public comment is, you know, they feel like they can actually provide input to the city. That's helpful because they know what's going on.
Reporter: All right. Thanks for that. Okay. You're really good at answering my questions before I even ask them. Oh, yes. What would you like to accomplish your change if elected?
Ashcraft: So yeah, a big part for me. The center of my campaign is really to reestablish that trust. That relationship between the government and the people so that they can kind of shape the community together, and that the people understand what decisions the city is making and that they can continue to inform that process. That's probably the biggest thing. And and the phrase that I use in my campaign is performance over politics, which basically also includes that we need to be tracking and measuring and and reporting it in a way that people can see. And we're making decisions based on what gets outcomes and and results, rather than what kind of benefits are in a group of people or what's just easy to get by. And, you know, how can we use tools to just get stuff done, even when the people don't necessarily know what's going on?
Reporter: Measurable results for citizens.
Ashcraft: Yes.
Reporter: Okay. You're just answering me before I get started. How would you like to go about maintaining or possibly creating a relationship with citizens?
Ashcraft: Yeah, so I think huge people feel like they're not very connected to the, the city. And I feel like partially that's because there's not a lot of opportunity to have back and forth conversation about issues with the city. There's sometimes up to just say what you think, but with no response. Or sometimes the response is just ex an explanation of how complicated it is and nuanced it is. And it kind of feels like they're shrugging off the public opinion sometimes. And so I feel like the, the biggest part to me would be training people on how to really listen and really understand and have empathy for all the people who are willing to be engaged with the city so they feel like they have a meaningful experience and they were heard, even if the outcome isn't exactly what they wanted. So yeah, beyond the clear, plain language really goes into training people to really listen.
Reporter: Okay. How are you feeling about your campaign so far and how it's going?
Ashcraft: Well, I'm excited. I think some, some people may see my campaign and feel like, oh, well, he doesn't seem to have a lot of signs out and whatnot, but I think my approach has been more that I just want to listen first and kind of get my really solid understanding of my plan. And so a lot of the content that I am putting out now, I'm really excited about, and there's a lot I feel like it's a lot more fleshed out, realistic and feasible compared to sometimes the platitudes that you might see from other candidates. And I personally think a lot of residents in Idaho Falls, maybe it's optimistic, but I think a lot of them care about this election, and I think a lot of them are very competent and interested in looking at the actual policies and not just kind of throwing out their vote to a name.
Reporter: Okay. So all right, is there anything else you'd like to address or any questions? I did not ask that you would like for me to have asked?
Ashcraft: So maybe about just kind of my plan with performance over politics, I have kind of a rough plan. So you can find more details about it on my website. But in the first 30 days, I really want to open up the books that transparency part, making sure people know what's going on, what, what the budget really is, you know, key basic questions about it and who's making decisions, what decisions have been made over the past years and then transition to the next phase of kind of raising that standard and making sure that, you know, that public input is expected, that better customer service is expected, and that getting the public approval is an expectation rather than an obstacle. Then the next phase is kind of cleaning house and getting rid of any obstacles that are preventing us from achieving that, and then following that with measuring those results, tracking the progress and adjusting as we go.
Reporter: Okay, great. Let's talk about anything else? Or is it just the way you talk about performance planning is.
Ashcraft: I mean, yeah, I mean, we haven't probably talked about any of the key issues or hot button topics yet. And go ahead and say that, you know, growth is the key word that people really are concerned about right now. And it's a very complex topic. You know, it it includes a lot of factors economic development, housing affordability, planning and zoning. And I'm glad that a lot of people are caring about it right now. It is important and we need that public input. And people may scrutinize imagine if and say that it's a problem. And my opinion is that imagine I have was a step, and I'm glad the city tried to take that step to create a plan. But it is really new and it's big and it has a lot of stuff in it, and it deserves to be scrutinized. It deserves to get feedback and to have adjustments to it because it's brand new and we've got to be on top of reviewing it and seeing what the impacts are and make sure that it's actually shaping the community the way that we want it to be shaped. So that's kind of my take on the main growth issue.
Reporter: All right. Any other hot button topic?
Ashcraft: You know, I mean, I could talk for a very long time if people want to talk. Yeah. All right.
Reporter: I don't seem to be the main.
Ashcraft: Yeah. That is the hot topic. I did just kind of post some stuff more in detail about housing affordability, and I'll be continuing to put more content out. My goal is to have a real key issue, have a deep response every day, and be posting that every day with a new issue and a new aspect of what people should care about for, for the election. And so probably the last thing is, I just think I really encourage everyone to get involved and do do your research and really look into the candidates. This is going to be a big election. It's going to determine the direction for the next while, and it's a big shift from what we've had. And so just do your research and go out and vote.
