Life of a Mayor

Guest: John Curtis, Mayor of Provo since January 2010  Mayors of mid-sized cities are the politicians who are really on the front lines of American life. They’re the keepers of our communities, fielding our complaints about potholes and police presence and places to shop. The mayors of mid-sized cities grapple with bringing historic downtown areas back to life, coaxing retailers into the city limits so we benefit from those sales taxes and convincing us to give our cars a break in favor of transit.  All of those challenges are true in the city where BYUradio is located – Provo, Utah. By many counts, Provo’s doing better than a lot of other cities – unemployment for the region is 2.7% - almost half the national rate. Provo’s consistently ranks high on lists of places to get a job, start a business or raise a family. Provo’s Mayor John Curtis can’t take credit for all of that, but after 6 years in office, he’s learned a thing or two about running a mid-sized city.