Ahead of last week’s deadline, Levi Andersen filed for the open at-large seat on the City Council in the upcoming municipal election.

Andersen, an Ogden School District teacher of six years and former Army reservist, told the Standard-Examiner he’s always had an interest in running for public office.

“I really love Ogden and I think it’s a wonderful place to live,” he said. “I have three kids and we love where we live. We love the school systems. We love being so close to the outdoors and I really think I could help make Ogden an even better place than it already is. … It’s always been a dream of mine to run for public office, I just ask people to give me a chance and learn more about me and learn more about what I stand for.”

He said one of his main goals would be to bring more business opportunities into Ogden.

“As I drive downtown, I see a lot of abandoned buildings,” he said. “A lot of the students I teach are really low income. I think getting really good, high-paying jobs would really help a lot of people, especially in the center of Ogden.”

Additionally, he’d like to see spaces downtown more friendly to teens.

“I would like some kind of a place where teenagers can safely hang out more in the evening times,” he said. “We have 25th Street but that’s more geared towards adults at night. … The community centers are great and the Marshall White Center being redone is awesome, but more of those kind of family places and spaces where people can hang out at night, I think that would draw a lot more people to those downtown areas.”

Andersen would also like to continue bringing in more people to the area.

“Ogden is a beautiful place,” he said. “It’s been on the map before. … Everybody knew where Ogden was because if you were going from the east to the west or the west to the east, you were going through Ogden. I think it can be put back on the map as well.”

Andersen is in a crowded race for the City Council. With council member Luis Lopez leaving the board, the at-large seat is being contested by Andersen, Shaun Myers, Lara Gale, Julez Garcia, John Thompson and Katie Matheson.