Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 | 2:05 p.m.
Another Boulder City resident, Linda Graham, has entered the race for city council to be decided in June's general election.
Graham, 56, is the wife of David Graham, senior pastor at Grace Community Church. She and her husband have lived in Boulder City for two years after moving from Garner, Iowa, she said.
Her decision to run is backed by a history of public service, Graham said, and she hopes to use those experiences to guide the city through some the challenges it's facing.
Graham served on the school board in East Peoria, Ill., where two of her four grown children and all of her 13 grandchildren still live, she said. After two years on the school board, she also made an unsuccessful run at mayor as a write-in candidate in 1995.
In Mason, Mich., Graham was a member of the county conservation district board, which oversaw matters related to water use, agriculture and land use.
She has also lobbied on behalf on the United Methodist Church, pursuing legislation to benefit poor families and children, and worked on a campaign for U.S. Representative Bob Wilson while she lived in Santa Barbara, Calif., in the 1970s, she said.
In Boulder City, which she called "an oasis in the desert," Graham felt compelled to run after talking with people in the community and watching the happenings of the city council in recent years, she said.
As the city grapples with increased traffic after the opening of the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and more than $95 million in debt, Graham said city officials must be "able to work together" to resolve their differences and act in the best interests of the city.
The pursuit of solar leases to offset lost revenue in other areas is one of the good ideas floating around City Hall, she said.
"I'm a compromiser," Graham said. "I feel my managerial skills would serve the city well."
She gave the city's lawsuits against the petitioners of several ballot questions from June's election as an example of misusing of the city's time and embracing conflict instead of compromise.
"I don't understand that," Graham said. "That was really a misuse of the city's power over its citizens."
Graham is the fourth candidate to file for city council, which has two open spots. She will face Rose Ann Miele, Peggy Leavitt and Rod Woodbury in June. The final filing day is Feb. 3.
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