Meet Salt Lake City Council candidate Dan Dugan
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Dan Dugan. Photo: Courtesy of Dan Dugan
Dan Dugan is competing to maintain his seat to represent District 6 residents on the Salt Lake City Council.
- Dugan, a U.S. Navy veteran, was first elected to the City Council in 2020.
Of note: Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
📲 First tap in the morning: "My first tap is reading the Tribune."
😄 Hobbies: "Running, biking, skiing, hiking, lacrosse, traveling, reading, good music but don't ask me names of bands or songs."
🏠 What neighborhoods have you lived in? "East Bench."
🐋 What whale-sized sculpture belongs in your district and where would it go? "I'm not an artist but maybe a sculpture of a Peloton of bikers going up the hill at the intersection of Sunnyside and Foothill."
🤔 What's the top issue Salt Lakers face? "Affordable living across the board, including the unsheltered/homeless."
- "To me, affordable living encompasses more than just the high cost of housing."
- "It also includes transportation, food, medical care and more. It's essential that we continue to confront the high cost of living and make sure no Salt Laker is left behind as we continue to grow as a city."
🏠 How would you address affordable housing in Salt Lake City? "Supporting the building of more mixed-income housing, mixed-use development.
- "The city has a number of programs focused on these such as Thriving in Place."
🌊 As the Great Salt Lake dwindles, what policy solutions would you recommend to conserve water? "As a city, we need to continue to incentivize water conservation and educate our residents on best practices."
- "On the council, I championed the new water usage limits on commercial/industry water uses. We've also tiered our water use fees and incentivized [xeriscaping] lawns. The city has done a great job in conserving water and we can continue to improve.
- "We should also look at our land and water policies in relation to growth. Salt Lake City cannot do it alone. The state needs to take a hard look at growth, industry and commercial use of water, residential water use, more efficient agriculture water use, and the 'use it or lose it' water rights."
🚩 What sets you apart as a candidate: "As the incumbent, I have a long list of policies that I've championed and delivered on to improve the lives of our residents.
- "Whether on environmental protections, lowering speed limits, allocating funds for traffic calming, or most recently enacting free UTA passes for our K-12 students, parents and employees, D6 voters can see exactly where my values are. I'm proud to have kept my word on the campaign promises I made in 2019, and I'm just getting started."
☝ First action as a City Council member: "Some of my actions for January 2024 will be to continue our work on housing for our unsheltered, expand our affordable housing work, push for additional traffic safety projects, work with legislators on school zone radar speed cameras, work with the state to increase funding for public transportation, and work on the environmental studies for the Inland Port and Northwest Quadrant."
🏛 Finally, why do you want to be a City Council member? "To make sure our residents' concerns and voices are heard and that the city and state are focused on taking care of all our residents' quality of life, improving our air quality, and protecting Great Salt Lake."
