County Council Candidacy

Fellow Republicans:

It is now one month before the convention on April 29. Feel free to contact me by phone or email or comment here with your questions or comments. I’d love to get your input. I would also invite you to visit my blog for some of my ideas and comments on Wasatch County issues.

Some of you may remember me from my letters and columns in the Wasatch Wave; others may remember my advocacy for the change to a Council form of County Government. Wasatch County was changed to a better form of government, we now need representatives who will be more responsive to the people of the County and embrace the change to more citizen involvement. In the court case over the change issue, Judge Eyre said, ". . . it is the intent of this court to give effect to the express will of the people . . ."

My issues in this campaign are basically threefold:

Growth: Wasatch County growth continues at an accelerating rate. While a moratorium was established, the enacted solution has failed to solve the problem of proper management of growth issues. We need to do more to protect our "small-town," rural valley from becoming Wasatch City. Zoning regulations are for the purpose of protecting the welfare of the community as a whole.

Two questions need to be asked and answered:
1 "Has anything substantially changed to manage growth in the last four years?
2 "What will the Heber Valley look like in ten or twenty years with the current growth philosophy and laws?

Openness in government: We need to do more to solicit community input and provide information to our citizens. The mere placing of a public notice that meets strict legal requirements may not be sufficient to keep people aware of future plans. I will work towards enhancing and enlarging available information to the citizenry. Informed people will result in a better government.

With the introduction of a new form government, the intent was to encourage more citizen involvement in local government and to create more open communications to and from the County government.
1 Have you been encouraged to become more involved?
2 Is your opinion being sought? Are you being heard?
3 Are you getting more and better information about proposals and decisions being made?
Lower Taxes: Every "politician" quotes that mantra. I have a record of being a tax watchdog and actively participate in attempting to save the taxpayers money. Residential development generally has a great negative fiscal impact on the taxpayers of the County and growth must be properly managed. Economy in fiscal management must be the watchword in County operation.

My past experience includes a long record of service in the Republican Party as:

• County Chairman,
• State Central Committee member,
• Many terms as state and county delegate,
• Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
• Author and Sponsor of the Resolution on determining cost of Illegal aliens to the taxpayers of Utah which was passed overwhelmingly by the delegates in 2005.

My other experience that might be considered is varied:

• a longtime student of governmental principles and practices,
• accomplished as a researcher and analyst,
• trained as an engineer,
• owner and manager of a local retail business and
• retired from my primary occupation as a Captain for a major airline.
• For the last three years, I have served on the County Planning Commission and agree with the statement in the Development Moratorium (Ordinance 05-11) "zoning regulations in the RA-1 zone are currently inadequate to protect this valuable asset (rural atmosphere, open space and agricultural feel)" from the "unprecedented growth pressure in the form of multiple large scale subdivisions applications and corresponding loss of agricultural use, open space and rural atmosphere."
• winner of the Wasatch County portion of primary for Utah State Representative, but regrettably lost to current Rep. Gordon Snow when Duschesne County turned out more voters.

My name is Robert Wren, and I am asking for your support as the nominee of the Republican Party for the Wasatch County Council at-large seat A. I am a strong supporter of the Republican Party principles and Platform and a firm believer in the idea of limited government, lower taxes and individual responsibility.

I believe in the triplet:

• Make good rules,
• Follow the rules,
• If the rules aren't good - change them.

In accordance with Wasatch County bylaw 7.2, I declare that:

I have read the Utah State and County Republican Party Platforms. I support those Platforms and accept them as the standard by which my performance as a candidate and as an officeholder should be judged.

Sincerely,

Robert Wren.