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South Jordan Journal

Get to Know Your City Representatives

Apr 07, 2016 04:46PM ● By Sandra Osborn

By Sandra Osborn | [email protected]

South Jordan - New council members Patrick Harris, Brad Marlor and Tamara Zander were sworn in Jan. 5, replacing Mark Seethaler, Chuck Newton and Steve Barnes respectively. They join Mayor Dave Alvord and council members Don Shelton and Christopher Rogers, who are on their terms’ second year.

This new and vibrant team has started the year with a bang. The first three months together brought in hot agenda items, from open space and water issues, to the Harvest Sun parcel dispute, to the controversy over high-density housing and the assessment bond. The city council and mayor have exciting years ahead of them as they carry out or amend their campaign promises and balance constituents’ requests with what is in the best interest of the city. 

Here is a brief introduction to the shoulders that will carry South Jordan’s future for the next few years: 

Mayor David L. Alvord is a local dentist and owner of Oquirrh Mountain Dental. He is passionate about politics and resident involvement in government. He ran his campaign platform on lowering South Jordan taxes. He guides his decisions on three principles: confining government to its proper role, showing respect for property rights and developing honesty in government funding, according to his campaign website, lowersjtaxes.com. 

“It’s important to have an efficient government,” Alvord said. “We can achieve better efficiency through being frugal and keeping an eye on expenses.”  

District 1 Councilmember Patrick Harris is the president of the Oak Hills Homeowners Association and a regional director for a large insurance company. He is an expert on risk analysis and has worked making decisions with multimillion-dollar ramifications. During his campaign, Harris expressed concerns about high-density housing, lowering taxes and curbing wasteful spending. 

“I will work hard to encourage wise economic growth and to keep our taxes low,” Harris said. “We need to develop businesses on our commercial land and not rezone for high-density apartments.”

Although District 2 Councilmember Brad Marlor is new to this council, he is a veteran to public service. Previously, he has served in South Jordan’s city council, planning commission, Economic Development Committee and chamber of commerce. Marlor is a principal broker and partner at Utah Business Consultants. He is concerned about residents feeling disenfranchised from their representatives. He strongly believes that public servants need to listen and people deserve to be listened to.  

“We are obligated to represent 67,000 people. That is no small task,” Marlor said. “We need to make clear the direction we are going as a council. We owe that to the residents.”

District 3 Councilmember Don Shelton works as an independent financial advisor and is the founder of the Oquirrh Wealth Advisors. He is also an athlete passionate about long-distance running. Shelton has been actively involved in the issues concerning Mulligans.

“At the philosophical level, I have always believed that the government closest to the people will likely be the most responsive to the people and as such, be the best government,” Shelton said. “We need to involve the public in a big way.”

The sole female voice, District 4 Councilmember Tamara Zander owns and operates Zander Real Estate Team with her husband, Cory. She was a founding board member for Early Light Academy and worked with Kennecott Land and South Jordan City for the school’s land acquisition. In her campaign website, Zander promises to seek balanced housing growth in South Jordan, preserve green space and work toward proper zoning to meet the needs of education. 

“I believe that constituent input is important,” Zander said. “My goal is to address residents’ concerns in a transparent and upfront manner and restore confidence in our city’s leadership.” 

District 5 Councilmember Christopher Rogers is an experienced civil litigation attorney. He has worked for the Utah Court of Appeals and has clerked for Senator Orrin G. Hatch. Rogers ran his campaign platform on encouraging smart economic growth, limiting government and reducing the financial burden on residents.

“I will work hard for the best interest of South Jordan and its residents, especially with respect to reducing high-density housing and maintaining high property values, low crime, community support and thriving businesses,” Rogers said.