Provo voters have a very important election coming up very soon — selecting the next mayor. Although election day is Tuesday, November 7, ballots were mailed out Tuesday.

Provo has a “strong mayor” form of government which makes the mayor, in essence, the CEO of the city. All department heads report to the mayor.

The city of Provo is equivalent to a major corporation. The city has a budget of about $230 million dollars, 1,500 employees, its own power and water company, a sanitation department, parks & recreation, police and fire departments along with several other departments. So, the job of the CEO is critical to the ongoing success of the city.

We cannot trust this important position to anyone without proper qualifications. But, that is what the voters of Provo may end up doing.

There were nine candidates in the primary election. Michelle Kaufusi garnered 3,891 votes, Sherrie Everett Hall received 2,677 votes, and Odell Miner, though entering late in the campaign, gathered 2,548 votes. The combined total of remaining votes cast for the other six candidates is about 3,200.

Those votes (and hopefully many more from Provo citizens) are up for grabs in the upcoming election.

It is this writer’s opinion that Odell Miner is, by far, the most qualified of the candidates. He has a Master’s degree from BYU in Public and Personnel Administration and a Doctorate from the U of U in Public Administration and Public Finance.

He has served as an assistant city manager, Provo city commissioner and CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute of Public Affairs which provided technical services to Utah cities, towns and counties.

He has done the tough jobs of hiring and firing, when necessary, and is very experienced and knowledgeable as to the intricacies of municipal government.

What are Michelle Kaufusi’s qualifications?

She has served on the school board and is chairwoman and member of several community groups. Running a business doesn’t seem to appear on her resume. By all reports, she is a very nice lady. She has the most recognizable name in this election, it is true, but how does being the wife of an assistant BYU football coach qualify her for the complex position of CEO of Provo.

Sherrie Hall Everett was a one-term city councilwoman from 2008 to 2012. As a member of the council she served one year as chair of the Provo Redevelopment Agency and currently serves as a member of the Utah Transit Authority Board of Trustees.

This position on the UTA board is an inherent conflict of interest, especially with the millions of dollars of taxpayer money being spent digging up, tearing down, and widening University Parkway, University Avenue, 900 East and 700 North in Provo, for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project that both she and Kaufusi support.

It is also reported that Hall Everett’s campaign accepted $20,000 in donations from UTA contractors. She doesn’t have the executive experience necessary to serve as the city’s CEO.

“What about electing Provo’s first woman mayor?” you ask. Most likely that will happen someday, but let’s not settle for gender over qualifications.

Again, this is equivalent to a major corporation that the next mayor will be running.

What are Odell Miner’s chances of winning as a write-in candidate? Well, there is precedent. Rick Moore did it in Payson and Mike Daniels won as a write-in candidate in Pleasant Grove.

Serious voters who take the time to evaluate the qualifications of these candidates will clearly see that Odell Miner is, by far, the most qualified–very qualified, indeed.

So, Provo voters, this is serious business electing the next mayor of our great city.