Thirty-eight year old Page native Levi Tappan announced last Friday that he will be running for Mayor of Page in the next election.

Tappan works as a sonographer at the Page Hospital. He served in the Marine Corps for five years from 1998 to 2005. He’s married to Hillery Tappan and they have three kids ages five through ten, Reece, Kora and Walker. He has served as a Page city councilman for five years.

Tappan has witnessed a lot of changes come to his home town over the nearly four decades he’s lived here. He’s watched it evolve from a primarily industrial town to a world-famous tourist destination and the concurrent shift in population.

“Page has lots of new families, and we still have families who founded the town. I want to be the bridge between the two,” he said.

When asked if he’s running for mayor for the future of Page or the future of his political career, Tappan answered that he’s doing it for the future of Page, and its families.

“My family and I like living in Page,” he said. “I don’t want to leave Page. I like seeing my neighbors at the store and the post office. I like knowing that Page is the kind of place where our kids can still play outside and be safe.”

With Page’s economy shifting from industrial to tourism Tappan wants to embrace the change and be pro-active in making improvements that Page’s visitors will find more welcoming.

“Page’s economy has changed a lot during my time here,” he said. “When I was growing up he city’s economy was fueled by the Navajo Generating Station and the dam, and most of our tourism dollars came from people buying gas and groceries for a week on the lake.”

Tappan believes Page has only begun to tap into the city’s tourism potential.

“Our streets should be paved with euros, yen and Renmimbis,” he said. “Page has the potential to look like a really nice ski resort, or gateway community like West Yellowstone. People talk about how great Moab is, but I think we could surpass Moab. There’s so much to see and do here. We’re the hub of one of the world’s greatest outdoor playgrounds.”

Tappan is aware that reaching the level of a Moab, Springdale or Jackson Hole will require some effort from business owners and residents alike.
“I’d like to see us take a little more pride in our town,” he said. “We need to spruce it up a little.”

Looking further down the road Tappan would like to add amenities that will offer our visitors more recreation options while they’re staying in town overnight.
“And I still want to get us a swimming pool.”