Ready to roll
November 11, 2009
By Hope Strong

Beloved mayor kicks the tires on his new role

LEFT: After 12 years in office, Driggs native son, Lou Christensen, will step down in a few weeks. Though Christensen will not be a part of city hall, he is optimistic about the future of his hometown and looking forward to being involved in the community.

When outgoing Driggs Mayor Lou Christensen came home to Driggs in 1992, he had been given five years to live after finishing chemotherapy in California for the aggressive T-cell Lymphoma that ended up taking one of his legs. After those five years had passed, Christensen wasn’t pushing up daisies. The man was mayor of his hometown, a role he has held for the last 12 years, and he’s not yet through serving his community.

“I may be down to one leg, but I’m not through kickin’,” Christensen said.

Mayor Lou drives a pretty conspicuous 1997 Yukon with a W-30 442 scoop on the hood that is reminiscent of a 1970 Matador. His rig has red racing stripes and red 20-inch rims to match. These custom choices may seem out of place for the mild-mannered, longtime mayor of Driggs, but racy automobiles are a past and present passion of Christensen’s. The man likes to go fast, though he hasn’t suffered a citation in a while.

“It’s been a long time,” said Christensen about getting a speeding ticket. “That doesn’t mean I haven’t been speeding, it just means I haven’t gotten caught.”

In his driveway in Driggs, Christensen has a 1969 Charger, one of his prized possessions. At one time, he had a 1972 Pinto. Go ahead and laugh at the pintsized pony of a Ford, but Christensen took her through her paces in the day.

“It’s one of the few 160 mile per hour Pintos you’ll ever see,” said Christensen, who raced at Sears Point, Laguna Seca, Las Vegas, San Diego, and other tracks in the west.

Although somewhat incongruous with his racing habit, Christensen also has a certain comfort level within a corporate structure. Logging almost 20 years between a few different cash register and data checking companies, Christensen was a worker bee who knew the importance of relationships with the people who surrounded him.

“The city is basically a corporation with a lot of different funds to understand, between budgets, payroll, and personnel,” Christensen said. “The citizen is treated like a customer. Some end up happier than others.”

Spending his fi rst 19 years growing up in Driggs from 1947 to 1966, Christensen remembers a time when the county seat had five gas stations, three car dealerships, three farm implement stores, two grocery stores, a theatre, and a drug store, in addition to many other merchants.

“When I moved away and came back, Main Street was filled with real estate offices,” Christensen said. “ I can’t say if that’s better or worse. It’s just different. It’s getting closer to being like it was before, but I don’t know if we even want that.”

Christensen thinks the population growth in Driggs is great, but he would hope that the people living in town understand the importance of supporting local businesses.

“One dollar circulates seven times around in the community before it no longer shows a growth product,” Christensen said. “ I would like to see people spend more here.”

Having worked closely with the Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce over the last decade, Christensen is not sure what’s next for him, but helping the chamber might be an option.

“The Snocross circuit series we had here a few years back was a great way to bring commerce into our city when we needed it the most,” Christensen said. “If it makes sense, I‘d like to try and bring it back. It brings in entertainment and revenue while allowing our local talent to compete. I love watching those guys tear it up on their machines.”

While he always likes to get in touch with his inner racer, Christensen is looking forward to being an active member of the community, whether there is a Snocross or not.

“I’d like to go to work again. The corporate world would be nice, but I also like the community service end of things,” Christensen said. “I’ll miss that, the involvement, but you’ll see me around. It’s kind of hard for me to be invisible. The community is important to me.”

On Christensen’s radar recently is the newly formed Teton Valley Motorheads Club, a group that is looking to bring back the Hillclimb that the Teton Valley Rotary sponsored for years. In the meantime, look for his red racing stripes speeding across the dry farms…and catch him if you can.