Joe Shogrin Touts Listening In Cheyenne City Council Run [Video]
Cheyenne City Council Ward III candidate Joe Shogrin says he will listen to the public and take a positive attitude into office if he is elected to the Cheyenne City Council.
Shogrin, who is a Journeyman Lineman at High West Energy, is running for the council seat being vacated by Richard Johnson.
Other announced candidates for the seat include local businessman Gabriel Pina and former councilmember Georgia Broyles.
In an appearance on KGAB-AM on Monday morning, Shogrin said he decided to run for City Council so that Cheyenne will be a good place for his children to live when they reach adulthood.
He said he thinks one thing that sets him apart from other candidates is his willingness to listen to what people really want. Towards that end, he points a focus group he has formed of local residents to get feedback about local issues and city government.
Shogrin said that while he likes the idea of a city rec center, he would only support such a project if the voters approved it on the sixth-penny sales tax ballot, not as a separate city project.
He says the other avenue for building a city rec center would be if a private company or organization were to build it. ''I think that's a great idea" Shogrin said of a privately-built rec center. ''Why should the city be on the hook for another Ice and Events Center?" Shorgin added.
He went on to say 'it's not the government's job to keep everyone entertained."
Similarly, Shogrin said that while he supports the revitalization of the downtown area, private businesses rather than the city should take the lead in that effort.
In terms of high-speed internet service for Cheyenne, Shogrin said once again he thinks the effort should be private. ''Can you imagine if the city ran fiber [optic cable]?" He said he is afraid if the city ran the venture "So what, now we have ten fibers, and only three of them work? I'll pass."
Shogrin also said that the city needs to focus hard on planning for the future, adding he thinks Cheyenne could easily have a population of 100,000 people in ten years.