Graham joins council race

Linda Graham is hopeful her 2015 bid for City Council will be more successful than the campaign she ran four years ago.

“I just felt like it was time for me to step in,” she said about her decision to run for council. “Politics are often about being at the right place at the right time.”

Graham, Rich Shuman and incumbent Peggy Leavitt are running for the two open council seats. In 2011, Graham was one of five candidates to run for two vacancies on the council when Leavitt and Rod Woodbury were elected.

Graham, 60, accumulated 749 votes in the 2011 race, the least amount of any candidate. She said that four years of getting more acclimated to the community will give her an advantage this year. Still, she told herself she wouldn’t run unless somebody asked her to run.

Someone did, and Graham said with only two others currently in the running, throwing her name in the race would give Boulder City residents another option.

“I feel strongly that people shouldn’t just be shoo-ins. People in our community need an alternative,” she said.

Graham said she likes the direction the city is headed, and tackling issues such as Interstate 11 and the city’s outdated electrical infrastructure needs to continue.

She said it’s a plus that the city won’t be getting as much traffic after the bypass is built, but there still needs to be a way to keep local businesses afloat once it’s completed.

“We won’t be getting as much traffic, but that’s a good thing. I feel the residents don’t like that. I think they feel bombarded by all of it,” Graham said. “Now that it will be somewhat eliminated and we’ll get somewhat fewer cars here, I think we’ll need to develop a marketing plan so that we’re ready to go with some alternatives with not as many people passing through.”

Graham previously served on the East Peoria School Board in Illinois from 1992 to 1998. She also served on the advisory committee for the Goleta Water District in California.

During her time in Illinois, Graham said she received advice from Rep. Robert Michel, R-Ill., while she worked on his campaign.

“He told me that politics was the art of compromise,” she said.

Graham does not have a college degree, but she said she has “a lot of life experience.” She took college courses in early childhood development and has worked in advertising and bookkeeping throughout the years.

With her father in the Air Force and her husband being a traveling pastor, Graham has lived in many states across the U.S.

“If I was to be elected, we would make every effort to stay here,” she said.

Graham serves as president of the community club and the American Legion auxiliary in Boulder City. She also serves on Boulder City’s allotment and historic preservation committees. She and her husband, David, have four grown children.

“I think that the Boulder City community could trust me,” Graham said. “I’m going to go in with the attitude of working together with what’s already established and get on board with the future.”

There will not be a primary election since only three candidates filed for the two open seats. The general election is June 2.

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @StevenSlivka.