Mendon’s mayor: ‘I can make a difference’
October 2nd, 2015 Posted in OpinionBy Jordan Floyd
MENDON — After six years as mayor of Mendon, third-generation resident Ed Buist still believes his job is all about the people.
“The word politician doesn’t fit me,” Buist said. “I’m a representative of a small town — they look to me for help and I look to them.”
Buist and his family are part of a long line of Mendon residents. Both his parents and grandparents were residents, and it was from them that Buist says he learned to love the city and its people.
“I was taught to serve,” Buist said. “My dad was that way — he never held office, but if things needed to get done around town, he was there.”
Buist carried three-quarters of the vote during his first election, and then won a second term. The large win served as a sign of approval by a community that knows and trusts Buist.
“Of course, he has clashed with some people,” said Cassidy Buist, the mayor’s daughter, a student at Utah State University. “But overall, he’s willing to work with everybody.”
While in office, Buist has been able to resolve serious culinary water problems that had faced the city for years. He has also played a large role in raising funds to begin construction on a new city building, and did so without increasing taxes or borrowing money.
“I didn’t go into office with a hidden agenda,” Buist said. “I knew there were needs and I was interested in helping [with] that.”
Ian Nemelka, a member of the Utah State University Government Relations Council, knows Buist well, and says the mayor is successful because he is down-to-earth and reasonable.
“He’s easy to talk to and not very intimidating,” Nemelka said. “That’s why he works well with the city residents.”
Now in his second term as mayor, Buist looks to continue to improve his city — all for the betterment of its residents.
“I don’t quit, and I went into office to get things done,” Buist said. “With a small town you’ve got to go in saying, ‘I can make a difference.’”
TP
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