Friday, September 6, 2013

Ketchum mayor to run for re-election

Randy Hall talks about campaign

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By ERIC AVISSAR
Express Staff Writer

    After serving two terms as mayor of Ketchum, Randy Hall has announced he will run for a third term this fall. Hall will be challenged by Ketchum Councilwoman Nina Jonas.
    Hall said he always knew he would run for re-election.
    “With the momentum and vision we have, it was a no-brainer for me to decide to run again,” Hall said. “I have a lot of passion for this job, and still have a lot of gas in my tank.”
    Hall said he is proud of the work he has done as Ketchum mayor, and wants to continue his progress into a third term.
    “I’m running for continuity reasons,” he said. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the last couple of years and can break it down into three categories of questions: How does it improve our quality of life? How does it help local businesses? Does it build infrastructure that will set the growth conversation down the road?”
    He added, “You have to have a little bit of balance with all of those questions, otherwise your government will fall apart.”
    After defeating then-incumbent Mayor Ed Simon in 2005, Hall said he wanted to restructure the government because he believed the financial situation at the time was not sustainable for a forward-moving community.
    Since taking office, he said, he has helped consolidate emergency services, which saves taxpayers more than $500,000 per year. A contract with Blaine County to provide law enforcement has saved the city $300,000 per year, he said.

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“I’ve worked my tail off for the community every day for the past eight years.”
Randy Hall
Mayor

    “My platform is ‘experience matters,’” Hall said. “A lot of my initiatives were generated out of my office. We’re projected to save the taxpayers over $11 million, which frees us up to do capital projects.”
    With election day set for Tuesday, Nov. 5, Hall said the Beaver Creek Fire threw him a curve ball, forcing him to begin campaigning later than he had planned.
He said, “You have to worry about the community’s health, safety and life issues first. Now that the fire is 100 percent contained, it’s time to work on getting the message out.”
Hall said that if he is not re-elected, then Ketchum residents should be ready for substantial changes in how the city government operates.
“Nina (Jonas) has a lot to offer, but we both have different viewpoints on how to help the community move forward,” he said. “There will be wholesale changes to the government in its operations if the people choose to go in a different direction for mayor.”
    If re-elected, Hall said he will focus on bringing a new culinary school to the Ketchum area through the College of Southern Idaho and building a hot water community pool in the city.
    “I’ve worked my tail off for the community every day for the last eight years,” he said. “This place is in my blood, it’s in my DNA. I love it and have great passion for it.”

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