Steven Diamond Running for Orem City Council

I know I usually write about politics at the federal and state levels. But I live in a charming community that I also pay very close attention to: Orem, Utah is my hometown and we're in dire need of some new leadership. We need some forward thinking people with strong conservative values who understand free enterprise and not taxing businesses into oblivion.

So I've looked at the field and the one candidate I can strongly stand behind is someone I've had my eye on for quite awhile. I've watched him in the political scene and I like what I see.

I'm throwing my support completely behind Steven C. Diamond for Orem City Council. Here's a little message from Steve, it was the 2nd of 3 I received from him. I really like what I've seen so far. This particular message struck a chord with me.

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It’s Tuesday, and I hope you've had some time to review yesterday’s first of three email messages I'm sending to you before next week's Primary Election. They contain SPECIFICS about what I will do if elected to the Orem City Council. I am running for office as a practical man with practical, specific solutions to problems and challenges we face in our city’s future.

Yesterday’s message talked about the specifics of dealing with Orem City’s increasing gang problem.

Today’s message is about my specific plans for fixing Orem ’s anemic business climate.

Please read on…

Repairing Orem’s Business Climate

The City of Orem’s current business climate is a key issue for our future. Have you noticed the number of businesses closing or moving out of Orem? You know when we loose our tax base our personal property taxes go up. Many of our current leaders have had years to address this challenge, and yet the businesses continue to shut down or leave.

As a member of the Orem City Council, I will work aggressively to reverse this trend.

You may well ask: “How can we do this?”

Specifically, this is what I propose: Creating and building a distinct BRAND for the City of Orem ! Let me explain by asking a few questions:

When you think of Spanish Fork what comes to mind? (most will answer “Rodeo”)

What about when you think of Midway? (most will answer “Swiss Days”)

And when you think of Provo ? (most will answer “The Freedom Festival” or “BYU”)

Now, ask yourself the question: “What is Orem ’s Brand?”

When I have asked people this question, not one person has given me clear, concise answer. Today's Orem is not a destination city with an identity; rather, it is a passage way for people going someplace else. We need to promote Orem's brand as a destination city and a place that is open for and welcoming to business.

Just look at how Cedar City has created a brand around the Shakespearean Festival. The result is that their brand identity brings in people (and money) from all over the world. A tiny town in the middle of nowhere has built an incredible global brand. Can you imagine what Orem can do with all that we have to offer? We can build on our city's Summerfest and Timpanogos Storytelling Festival as part of our brand, but to succeed it must be even bigger and more inspiring. We can do this!

The City of Orem’s brand should be "Family City USA."

The recipe for creating this brand for the City of Orem should have the following ingredients:

Setting up a committee of Orem business owners and working with a group of local marketers to come up with the campaign to promote our "Family City USA " brand.

Establishing a web presence on the Internet to help create awareness and entice tourists and other Utahans to the different venues in our city.

Developing the area of Orem City around Utah Lake. We do not have a "family friendly" presence on the lake. I will encourage the development of beach areas and recreation facilities that will rival any similar destination in California. I know people who would develop the land if they were confident the city would eagerly support development of the water front. We can do this right now and with very little up-front cost--and it can all be done with private funds. Orem City would only need to give usage permits. We do not have to wait for the rest of the cities in the valley to act to take the leadership role in this!

Using several of Orem’s empty buildings to promote this and other forms of recreation (including the community dance hall concept mentioned above).

Helping promote the great sports teams and venues we already have in Orem. We have great sports venues at UVU. We have fun teams whose games are reasonably priced. To help these teams stay here, we need to work to stop loosing the “Thunder” indoor football team to the E-Center. With Orem City’s support and promotion as part of building the “Family City USA brand” people inside and outside of Utah Valley will help our teams flourish.

Finally, I will work to give the business community direct access to city hall with an online forum. This forum will give business owners a place and the opportunity to talk with each other, with their customers the citizens, and with city hall. Business networking will improve the business climate. Business-to-business marketing will increase. We can also create and encourage a “Buy Local” campaign in the city’s marketing plan. We'll do this by creating a searchable listing all of the businesses and services in the city on the Orem City website. The city website can become the center of information for business activities and happenings in Orem.

As a business man with thirty-five years of real-world business experience, I have the ability to bring our community together to build a vibrant business climate and tax base for Orem City.

Please consider voting for me for Orem City Council in the upcoming Primary Election on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

Sincerely,

Steven Diamond
Candidate for Orem City Council
Cell phone: 801-830-2400
Email: steve@stevencdiamond.com
Website: www.stevencdiamond.com

P.S. Tomorrow’s last message will discuss HOW I will govern—so you can know what to expect of me as new issues and challenges come before our city. Meantime, if you would like more information on my plans for the City of Orem, please call me (801-830-2400), email me (steve@stevencdiamond.com) or visit my website at www.stevencdiamond.com. Please feel free to forward on this message to your friends and neighbors in Orem.

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So please, if you live in the Orem area and you are a reader of my blog, support Steven C. Diamond in his bid to win a seat on the Orem City Council. If he wins, Valor Publishing Group will apply to sit on the committee he is forming to revitalize Orem.