15 people are running for three open seats on the Burlington City Council. The Oct. 10 primary election will narrow the field from 15 to six ahead of the Nov. 7 general election. Tri States Public Radio spoke with the candidates ahead of the primary, including Richard Goughnour.
Goughnour said he has the time and energy to devote to the city council after retiring from the newspaper business, which included owning a small local newspaper.
Goughnour describes himself as being pretty conservative. He said one of his priorities would be to make sure that city government is open and transparent.
Goughnour believes the current set up for city council meetings is intimidating and that means people are not bringing forward ideas that could help the city. He said if elected, he would try to encourage more people to bring their ideas forward through a kiosk in city hall.
Goughnour said as a businessman, he would prefer to see someone build high-rise apartments or condos along the riverfront in downtown Burlington as opposed to a park or other green space. And he would like to see if the schools in Burlington could come together to find a new use for Memorial Auditorium.
Early voting is underway in Burlington ahead of the Oct. 10 primary election.