Mayoral and citywide candidates outline priorities at District 4 forum

Neighborhood District 4 hosted a candidate forum at the end of its meeting where local officeholders and candidates summarized their priorities.

Mayor Michelle Cafusi opened the candidate block by identifying herself as the current mayor and recounting city achievements, saying she had "delivered a balanced budget for this city, and never once have I ever proposed a tax increase." She described efforts to secure grant funding and to stretch limited budgets for major capital needs.

Former state legislator Marsha Jeffkins and other mayoral and council candidates emphasized economic development, housing affordability and transparency. Jeffkins said Provo’s sales tax revenue is an important portion of the budget and proposed supporting small businesses and streamlined permitting to improve local sales tax receipts.

City council and council‑seat candidates (Rachel Whipple, Adam Shin, Sam Blackburn and others) spoke about housing access, zoning reform and infrastructure. Councilor Rachel Whipple noted the city has nearly 30–40 residential zone types and said the council is pursuing a zoning code rewrite and exploring city‑owned land for workforce housing. Adam Shin stressed concerns about aging infrastructure and water pressure in parts of West Grandview; Sam Blackburn said housing shortages affect families and students.

Candidates offered websites and contact information for the public to seek more detail and stayed after the meeting to take questions from attendees. The forum was informational; no endorsements or formal actions occurred at the meeting.