Vote for a Mindset Not an Issue

August 9, 2025

Beyond Issues: How you think determines how you act

We all have issues that drive us. For some, it may be traffic congestion, for others, it’s the rising cost of housing, or ensuring our children have safe well funded schools. These are all valid concerns that deserve attention. My observation is that politicians would have you believe that a candidate’s position on a single issue you care about is the only qualification for your vote. We should reject that premise as it leads to division and polarization. I think about the party platforms that I’ve read and the people I’ve talked to and it is clear that perfect alignment with a party or individual is extremely rare.

I do not expect anyone to agree with me all of the time because people and issues are too complex for that. This is why my tenure to date and my campaign for Vineyard City Council are focused on principles that define who I am rather than a position on an issue. While I do have positions on key issues, they are driven by the principles that define how I think. They are not entrenched which means new information can and will influence my position.

My goal is to bring a way of thinking to our city’s leadership with a mindset focused on respect, collaboration and common interest. When our leadership develops this mindset it translates directly into effective governance. When it comes to respect, collaboration and common interest, I routinely come back to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s statement that “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Next, I think “In God we trust, all others bring data” that I’ve heard for years. One of the primary failings of positional thinking is that it allows for emotional rather than data-driven decisions. The ability to understand, to evaluate data and to openly consider opposing ideas is exactly how I serve Vineyard today and how I will serve Vineyard in the future.

Why am I so confident that I bring this mindset? It is because I have a 25 year track record of doing so in my career and the personality and skills assessments that show a consistent pattern of thinking. I spend a lot of introspective time and therefore find personality and skills assessments fascinating (See my Context score in CliftonStrengths). No single test can expose who you are but seeing patterns across multiple assessments starts to paint a picture. I have taken a number of assessments over the years, but the most relevant in the recent past are the Insights Discovery Personal Profile and Gallup CliftonStrengths.

A Trust Based Mindset: A Proven Strength

I first took the Meyers-Briggs assessment as an MBA student revealing my profile as INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging). It was eye opening to have a framework for self-reflection. It has remained consistent and reinforces my more recent assessments.

Based on my assessments, I have a consistent leadership style that is core to who I am. I am a strategic thinker who relies heavily on data and relationships of trust.

Logical and Analytical: My number one strength and what I lean into first is being Analytical. I tend to approach issues by carefulling observing, gathering data and understanding it before acting (Coordinating Observer). Match those with my Thinking and it is clear that I spend my time searching for reasons and causes. I approach challenges expecting thorough research with data-driven analysis.
Relational and Collaborative: My Relator, Connectedness and Developer themes explain why I want deep, genuine relationships and why I can see potential in others. As a council member, this means I thrive in small groups and one-on-one conversations. It means I don’t pretend to care, but genuinely want to build relationships to build trust among staff, council members, and residents. My approach as a Liberator and Investor reinforces this behavior as I expect people’s best work and am willing to give them the space and encouragement to give it.
Principled and Accountable: My Belief and Responsibility themes mean I take ownership of my commitments and lead with unchanging core values. As a leader, I have a clear sense of purpose and demonstrate a consistent approach to problems as they arise. I hold myself and others accountable for results.

Shared Responsibility: My Insight Needs Your Perspective

These assessments also reveal where I need help. While I believe my strengths are needed in Vineyard, I need the help of staff, council members and you to help me be the most effective council member that I can be.

Help Me Stay Connected: My natural tendency as an INTJ is to be logical and objective. This can lead me to project that I am a cold or unfeeling person when making decisions. However, I recognize that effective leadership requires understanding the human impact of decisions. My Bring-Need assessment highlights a need for more one-on-one interactions and opportunities to hear about the goals of others. This is why I always make an invitation for a meeting when someone reaches out to me. I need you to engage with me, to share your personal stories, and to help me see beyond the data to the people that are impacted by our city’s decisions. Each time you do, it gives me another context in which to evaluate my thinking.
Help Me See the Whole Picture: My Insights assessment shows that I can be skeptical in the face of opposition and may lean into strict processes. This is especially true when I perceive disorder. While I will actively seek out opposing viewpoints, I need you to share your perspectives freely and openly. I had a mentor that would say that disagreement is often a difference in information. I always want the “right” solution. I know this is accomplished through collaboration and not through my own perspective. I need you to bring your information and perspectives so that I can maintain my ability to hold two opposing ideas in my mind at the same time.
Help Me Know What Risks to Take: By having Discipline and Coordinating Observer assessments combined with my INTJ traits, I become a risk averse leader. While this may lead to some good governance, it can also make me blind to opportunities. I need your perspective to identify the opportunities that are worth the risk and that lead to a vision of Vineyard that we can build together.

A new Kind of Leader: A Mindset for Vineyard

As a city council member and as a leader, I know who I am. I have strengths that Vineyard needs. I have a track record of applying those strengths. I am also humble enough to recognize that I cannot effect change by myself. I need your help. I believe that when you know how I think and how I make decisions that we can work together effectively. I believe that I am a critical piece to building the relationships that will help us build a better Vineyard as a community. That is why I am asking for you to vote. You need to vote not just for me, but for this way of thinking.

Mindset Applied

For those interested in seeing how I apply this mindset to issues, here are just a few examples:

Logical and Analytical: When our council faced decisions on financing the Vineyard Center, I studied the data provided by LRB, the City’s fiduciary, to see if it would be affordable. Solving Vineyard’s Space Puzzle is a deep dive into how I think about that problem
Relational and Collaborative: This is why I try to reach out to every council member before each council meeting to see if there are any agenda items they wish to discuss.
Principled and Accountable: I took on the responsibility of leading the Code of Conduct sub-committee after only a short time on the council. I made sure we included different perspectives including two current candidates for city council. On principle, I did not want a one-sided document. When I felt like we arrived at a reasonable document after 8 weeks of work, I pressed for a vote on the Code of Conduct in order to keep myself and the council accountable.
Stay Connected: Recently, a resident reached out with a couple questions. One question was about the plan and need for a Vineyard Recreation Center. To this point, I have heard mostly demand for a rec center and a little bit of opposition. But, the question is if the proximity of the Orem Recreation Center adequately services Vineyard’s rec center needs. It wasn’t a question for or against, but simply a different perspective that prompts me to learn about how the Orem Recreation Center impacts demand and need in Vineyard.
See the Whole Picture: I get very frustrated by political grandstanding and uncontrolled debate. It’s why I was anxious to lead the Code of Conduct effort. But my reactions to that frustration go beyond the Code of Conduct. I want to ask for agendas earlier (more to come on that topic) and to implement some very militant rules of order. However, I’ve had conversations that indicate that this approach could alienate a portion of our residents.
Know What Risks to Take: Had I been on the council a few years ago, I likely would have taken a pretty conventional approach to attracting business development in Vineyard. However, when the opportunity to bring a Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) campus to Vineyard was first pitched, I would have questioned it. But, seeing the impact HCI will have on Vineyard economically, attracting them was the right risk to take.

See for Yourself: Complete Reports

Over the years, I’ve taken several professional assessments that helped me understand my strengths and leadership style. They are the primary reference in my self-analysis. I’m including the reports here so you can read them yourself and decide what they show about how I serve Vineyard.