Brent Chugg was sworn in to office after the council selected him out of the other four candidates to fill the Mayor’s seat for 2019.

Chugg will continue serving as the mayor, but his seat will be open for election in Nov. 2019. His position isn’t the only one. Four city council seats currently occupied by Carl Turner, Cheryl Stoker, Phillip Swanson, and Ryan Barker will also be open in the next election.

Sean Casey, Janis Christensen, Julie Anderson, and Steven Huntsman were the other applicants who ran for the Mayor’s Seat. Councilman Carl Turner encouraged them, and community members at the meeting to consider running for office in the upcoming election.

Peggy Barker attended the meeting and took notes during the interviews. She said later in public comments she saw a lot of strengths in the other candidates she would like to see applied in the city.

Each of the candidates were brought in from a separate room to be interviewed and none of them had prior knowledge of what the questions would be.

Chugg’s interview gave insight on where the city has been in 2018 and where it will go in 2019.

His time as the temporary mayor in 2018 taught him how important communication is. He said it was disturbing handling the conflicts and complaints surrounding the amphitheater. “There were issues on both sides and I had gotten into the middle of it after it had started.” He said looking back he would have spent more time communicating. “Communication is the key to alleviating the situation.”

He supports moving forward with the next phase of the amphitheater to make it functional and He also supports more business in North Ogden to capture additional tax base.

The community also learned about him. Born on a farm in Cache Valley, Chugg later used his skills he learned at home to oversee the peas, beans and corn production at  Del Monte. He also worked in plant diagnostics and insect control there before he was hired by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to oversee food production for the Bishop’s Storehouse. After working there for 23 years, he retired. He and his wife have five sons, 16 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.