Wasatch County Councilor Erik Rowland is running unopposed for reelection.  Rowland, a Republican, has occupied County Council Seat C since his term began in 2023. Seat C encompasses Heber City east of U.S. 40 and north of E Center Street.  As a county councilor, Rowland is involved with th e Heber Valley Tourism and Economic Development Board, the North Village Special Service District Administrative Control Board and the Open Lands board. While he believes that politicians should be “changed, and changed often,” Rowland is running again because he feels there is still work to be done. He ran for his first term after some urging from other County Council members. Rowland, who was a Heber City councilor from 2012 through 2015, said he had the necessary experience to do the job well. Plus, more time. Rowland had a full house with young kids during his time on the Heber City Council.  Now, Rowland said he is in a place to dedicate more time and energy to bettering Wasatch County.  “We had a few interesting challenges just in that first year with the temple and the lighting dark sky initiatives, and so right from the beginning it’s been an opportunity to work with other people,” Rowland said about his first County Council term. “I think that’s one thing that I’ve observed that’s been very fundamentally different serving on the county than on the city.” Dealing with larger projects like the Heber Valley Utah Temple and the Heber Valley bypass route has given him experience working on matters with impacts beyond just Heber City, he said, adding that he can’t point to a single project of which he’s most proud; at the end of the day, they’re all related.  “What I’ve really come to appreciate is being able to articulate our challenges to other councils, to other entities, work with them and figure out how we can come to the table with the best solution,” Rowland said, “but also continually working forward, understanding we each have autonomy and making sure that we’re always listening to their concerns and doing what we can to make the best solution.” Rowland said part of why he is running again for Seat C is due to the larger projects at hand. That includes the Heber Valley bypass route. “We’re talking about generational changes that will affect many for many years,” Rowland said.  He added that applying the necessary policy changes and working through coordinated efforts with other entities cannot be accomplished in a single term. He said he looks forward to spending at least one more term working on initiatives that will benefit Wasatch County. That includes working on addressing what he sees as the No. 1 issue — growth.  “We’ve got one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, areas to live in Utah, if not the fastest growing areas to live in Utah. We have incredible pressure from the state to be more lenient toward developers, and we don’t want to be,” Rowland said.  Rowland pointed out that having Deer Valley Resort just up the road will change the demographic of the county as the area becomes more resort-oriented.  “Because there’s so much change happening, there’s a perception of a lot of problems happening,” Rowland said.  For Rowland, it’s about getting ahead of the game.  “It’s just getting a handle on what in the world this is going to look like in two years, five years, 10 years, 20 years, because if we don’t start trying to define that and put some guardrails up, it’ll be defined for us,” Rowland said.  He hopes to address such issues in his next term as a County Council member.  No other Republicans or Democrats filed candidacy for Seat C. There is still time for unaffiliated candidates to submit certifications of nomination, the deadline for which is June 15. The post Erik Rowland is running unopposed for his Wasatch County Council seat appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less