Though only three positions on the Heber City Council will become available at the end of the year, 13 candidates filed to fill those positions and 11 remain in the race.
Given the high number of individuals in the running, The Park Record sent a relatively short list of questions to each regarding their motivation for running, their plans if elected and their general platform. Their answers will be shared in a short series of articles, of which this is the third.
Nick López
Q: What was your motivation to run for Heber City Council?
A: I am motivated to run because I have a lifetime of experience in public service and proven leadership in the service of others. I believe that my leadership experience as a Sergeant Major of Marines and a professional firefighter will greatly benefit Heber City residents as we navigate though the challenges that we all face as residents of Heber City and Heber Valley. I have a unique desire to serve others and the ability to unite diverse groups of people to achieve what some may see as impossible. I have the integrity, enthusiasm and the intestinal fortitude to give the residents what they are looking for in a leader and City Council Member.
Q: What will your top priorities be if you are elected?
A: There are 6 items that I see as challenges and are my top priorities.
1. Obviously transportation issues are of a major concern for our residents. Constructing and providing safe and reliable transportation corridors that will accommodate the increasing population in our community without having a detrimental impact on our residents and the North Fields. Improving alternate transportation options, with busing, ride share, and bike routes to help our residents commute to work, education and recreation destinations. I will do this by working closely with City Department Heads, UDOT and with constructive input from Heber City Residents and Business Owners.
2. Growth or what I will call responsible growth. I will work with city planners, city engineers, fire and police departments, state lawmakers to find solutions to minimize the impact of growth. I will do this within the scope of the law and the needs and desires of our residents and businesses owners. It’s just as easy to vote no on a project as it is to vote yes to a project based on fact-based information.
3. Providing support and funding for professional public safety. I will accomplish this by working closely with local and state law enforcement, and fire service leaders to ensure that they will have the resources needed to conduct professional public safety within our community. This will include but not limited to, professional training, equipment, tools, weapons, fire apparatus and salaries that will keep the high standards of our public safety officers where we need them, here in Heber City.
4. Infrastructure. Providing our residents with the highest quality of life, based on the high standards we will place on our public works department. Ensuring that we retain our highly skilled professional employees that provide our residents service. This will be accomplished by working with city department heads, city planners, engineering and construction companies contracted by the city.
5. Maintaining a city budget. Living within our means. Prioritizing wants and needs. Openly sharing these wants and needs, with our residents, including the short and long term costs associated with projects and programs. We can’t continue to overspend. We need to ensure that the residents know and understand that some wants must wait while we pay for the needs. Simply raising taxes to fulfill the wants and desires isn’t the answer. There must be accountability and compromise throughout the city departments and with the residents. Not every resident is in the same financial position as another. We need to unite and be understanding of others.
6. Finally, our greatest challenge as a city, and my top priority as a City Council Member, will be to actually listen to our residents. Respectfully taking the time to listen to their individual and collective concerns, ideas and solutions to problems and issues important to them. Far too many times I have sat in Council Chambers and watched council members be dismissive in words, gestures and body language towards residents’ concerns. Often times council members are engrossed in their phones and electronic devices, eating or engaged in private conversations with each other while being addressed by a concerned resident. I have also read similar dismissive comments or passing of the buck by council members to question and concerns made by residents on social media and in print media. Our residents deserve the undivided attention of our council members when they are addressing their concerns with the council. Much can be learned, understood and accomplished, when both parties share a level of mutual courtesy and respectful dialogue.
Q: Why should voters prefer you over other candidates?
A: That’s a good question with a simple answer. I offer myself. I offer my integrity, my spirit. I offer my life experience and devotion to duty. My undivided attention and my proven ability to lead and unite a diverse community. I offer the selfless sacrifice that has come naturally to me throughout my life and while serving other in two demanding professions. It has been said, “Character is how you treat people who can do nothing for you.” A man’s character, honor and integrity is truly all he can claim as his own. Those traits I hold close to my heart. It’s those personal traits that set me apart from all others. Traits forged by fire and combat leadership in the most arduous conditions. As a Senior Marine Leader, a leader of Marines, I always led with firmness, fairness and compassion. My character and integrity, true and tested will always be a part of me for the rest of my life. I have always lived up to the Marine Corps Motto “Semper Fidelis,” Latin meaning Always Faithful, and that will never change.
Paul Royall III
Q: What was your motivation to run for Heber City Council?
A: I have a desire to serve my community and the be a voice for all the residents of Heber City.
Q: What will your top priorities be if you are elected?
A: • Growth
• Water Resources
• Impact on community members
• Traffic
• Affordable Housing
• Downtown Parking
• Attracting Businesses and jobs
Q: Why should voters prefer you over other candidates?
A: The voters should vote for the candidate that they can trust to represent them and their values. I feel that I am that candidate. Please remember to vote since that is a big part of our freedom in this country.
Aaron Cheatwood
Q: What was your motivation to run for Heber City Council?
A: Heber City is facing critical challenges that require patience, research, understanding and collaboration. I saw an opportunity to both continue and to refine the communication and transparency efforts that have been started with this prior council.
As I got to know city leaders with my involvement in the Heber Leadership Academy last year, I realized that many of the biggest frustrations of the public boil down to lacking or unclear communication. I saw leaders that truly want to do well and see Heber succeed, but don’t have the platform to communicate effectively with the population. I saw that people were much more aligned than a bystander would assume, once I gave the time to truly hear both sides. I learned more about some of the issues where I had a strong (and incorrect) opinion and realized how vital that communication really is. I think there is also a major opportunity to set aside differences and compromise while we collaborate on issues.
I want to help our residents become informed, be and feel heard, and know when big discussions are happening so that their voices can be recognized. On top of that, I want to lead the tough conversations, deal with things now vs. pushing things off and drive the council to higher levels of efficiency and transparency.
Q: What will your top priorities be if you are elected?
A: I believe we can find solutions to even the toughest problems if we work together. My top priorities are responsible growth, accurate representation and transparent communication, more-affordable housing options and small business support.
The city council can have a big effect on responsible growth in Heber. We must ensure the growth doesn’t outstrip our infrastructure (safety, power, water, traffic) and still honors the rights of property owners. We need to proactively drive for the community we want to live in and listen to the voice of the public by expounding on the Envision Heber work and ensuring the desires of the people are reflected in the general plan.
I think the current council has come a long way in listening to the residents and helping drive awareness in recent years; this cannot stop as council members change out. I know that proactive communication, transparent action, and efficient meetings we can help our residents feel heard supported. More than anything, I think transparency can break down the barriers that crop up between us.
Affordable housing is an issue all over the state, especially so in Heber. We must embrace creative housing solutions to ensure our families can live, work and thrive in this wonderful city, and that we have the employees needed to support the city we envision.
One of Heber’s unique charms is the diversity of local small businesses. We need to make it easier for our local employers to succeed and thrive despite the tricky traffic and highway 40 issues. If we want to see a vibrant Heber with a successful downtown, we need to embrace small businesses and make it easier to keep workers and tax revenue here in the city. As a small business owner, I know these challenges intimately.
While not strictly within the scope of the council, I think we have a responsibility to voice our desires on things within the county that affect us. Clear communication with UDOT on bypass options and their impacts on the city, inter-local partnerships with surrounding cities and viewpoints on issues like open space preservation and federal grants must be a part of our rhetoric, even if we are not the ones deciding. Heber is a big part of the county and we need to be willing to participate in the bigger issues.
Q: Why should voters prefer you over other candidates?
A: I’ve grown up in this valley and am acutely aware of how the issues inside Heber affect the residents and the valley at large. My wife and I met at Wasatch High and we love raising our family here. I’m a father of three, from elementary to high school, and am invested in making this a city they are proud to live in. As a local business owner, I see and hear the challenges of residents and businesses alike and I know how to stay connected to the people. My entire career has been focused, in one way or another, on understanding issues and solving problems. Often, this means working with and through other people to achieve resolution. I am a hard worker who takes the time to learn and understand before acting. I would rather have hard conversations now vs. pushing things off and “dealing with it later.” While I don’t have political experience yet, I am willing to learn, am willing to serve, and am able to acknowledge when I’m wrong.
Even if I’m not your choice, please take the time to get to know the candidates, we have some great options! With 13 running, I hope we set records for voter turnout and representation.
As of Aug. 31, the list of candidates posted online includes those mentioned above as well as Casey Powers, Christen Thompson, Sid Ostergaard, Jami Hewlett, Danny Hill, Vaughn Eric Hokanson, Tori Broughton and Mike Johnston.
More information about the election and candidates can be found at Heber City’s website.