By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News

Helper City Council candidate Ruth Lee joined the KOAL newsroom to discuss her campaign, platform and what she aims to accomplish if elected.

Opening our conversation, Lee discussed what pushed her to run for the council seat,” There are a lot of things that have made me want to step into this position, but I would say the most would be that I just love Helper. I love the community. I love being involved in the community. I’m a fourth-generation Helper resident, and so I want to put my name out there and serve my community in a greater way.”

Having worked and served in a variety of public-facing positions, including a stint on the Helper Museum Board. Lee explained how she believed these experiences would benefit her if elected. “I know that being in a position like this, it’s important to be accessible to people and be approachable to people. I feel that I have already done that by being able to serve people every day at Balance Rock, doing things at the museum board and being involved in the community. So I think that that’s one of my main reasons for wanting to keep going.”

As a member of the city council, disagreements are bound to happen. Whether they be with other council members or citizens, Lee shared how she would approach such an issue: “I would like to say that my experience working at Balance Rock and in customer service has given me the upper hand in that I am phenomenal at working my way around disagreements and finding a balance between agreeing to disagree but still respecting each other.”

Written across Lee’s campaign signs spread throughout Helper is the slogan ‘From the community, for the community.’ Lee spoke on why she chose this to represent her campaign: “I want people to know that I am from the community. I grew up in Helper. It’s where my values were built. It’s where my future is rooted. And so, coming from my great grandparents living there, my grandparents, I just wanted people to know that I am for keeping the history of Helper alive.”

As one of the few nonincumbent candidates in the election, Lee shared what she has done to help prepare for a potential seat on the council. “In previous years, I have put my name forward when there have been vacancies available on the city council. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected, which, in this case, I think gives me the upper hand. All of those times, I just worked harder and did more research. I’ve gained more knowledge on things that I didn’t know. I think that I’m fully prepared for this position.”

She continued,” I’ve reached out to previous city council members and gotten the scoop on what is important in the community, like water, just so I can get the knowledge on all of the things that city council comes with, so I’m prepared.”

Focusing on a single issue, Lee discussed what she would do if given the ability to fix one issue facing Helper immediately. “I would say that there are quite a few issues, but one of the most important ones on day one I would say the involvement in our community and I think that stems from lack of knowledge um people Just not really knowing exactly what’s going on So the transparency aspect being able to educate my community on what local government is how it works and what it’s for and especially that The people of the community their voices are the most important part of the entire process It’s what makes a successful government a successful community So day one, I think that I would work really hard on trying to get that information out to people and encouraging involvement in our local government.”

Closing our conversation, Lee spoke on why she believes residents of Helper should vote for her come Nov. 4,” I think that my community should vote for me because I represent the next generation stepping up to the plate. I think that it’s a huge benefit to have fresh energy, new ideas and a new vision for our community and local government. I am also really big on giving back to the community. Throughout my campaign, I created some of these cute little hats, and I decided to use the money that I gained from that to give back to the Helper Express Playground. And so little things like that I’m super focused on, and I again think that it would be a benefit to our community to have that new energy and fresh vision.”

This article does not serve as an endorsement for the candidate featured. All candidates in the 2025 municipal election cycle are entitled to one free interview. To schedule, email news@koal.net.