Richard Sheldon
Candidate for Sandy City Council

I am running for Sandy City Council in order to be an active part in the growth and progress of our community. Our City leadership needs to be more accountable and receptive to citizen feedback. Rather than just complaining about these issues, I hope voters will allow me the chance to work toward making these improvements. I also believe in serving my community. I have been in law enforcement for over 13 years and as of August 2020, I have served in the United States Army for 20 years. I have six years on Active Duty and 14 in the Reserve. In both of these jobs I have been blessed to work with people from all walks of life. These two jobs have instilled in me many positive leadership attributes that I will bring to City Council.

I believe that Sandy is at a critical point, in which there is opportunity to make substantial positive impacts for the future of our residents. My number one priority will be to all citizens, with a goal of not only actively listening to their concerns, but hearing the concerns and addressing issues with open communication. Just like with everything in life, we need to have a balance. We cannot stop growth, and in fact, I do not think we should be trying. On the other hand, if we let developers take control, our city’s policies will be shaped to not enhance our citizen’s lives, but to improve a company’s profit margin. Development needs to pay for the infrastructure it adds. When the city pays for major development, the result is money and resources are taken from other projects, and ultimately hinders the quality of life of our citizens. The reality is there are many examples of cities out there that have found that balance. Those communities are places were people desire to live, choose to take pride in and help to take care of, where both residents and developers come out ahead. My goal is to help the City of Sandy to become one of those communities. I believe with thoughtful policies that are derived from looking at current best practices, while implementing some innovative thinking and working in collaboration, we can thrive now and in the future.

The Sandy Campus is a task our city must continue to make progress toward funding and building. It is desired by most of our citizens. Our community would greatly benefit from the expansion of our recreation abilities. As a parent of young children, I noticed almost all of our children’s sports games are played outside of the city. This is a small example of an important area that could be improved by the Sandy Campus, enabling our children to play, learn and grow in their own community. These types of public facilities help ensure equitable activities for all citizens. Before we start building it is necessary make sure we continue to illicit feedback from our citizens in regards to what they desire and are willing to pay for. If the community still desires to move forward we can then formulate a phased response to construct these facilities.

This will help us move forward in bettering our city, while also ensuring our funds are properly utilized over a longer period. After each phase we should evaluate and make improvements before moving forward. Ultimately, I believe this is a decision the citizens should make via a vote. I do believe the City should provide our citizens with a construction plan and an accurate cost projection, so that voters can decide if this is something they can pay for.

With growth comes other issues that requires valuable city resources. We need to ensure our communities are safe by adequately training and funding our public safety. We also need to provide our public safety with adequate resources and regulations to allow them to successfully accomplish their duties. We need to be proactive in addressing livability issues for our citizen’s, so that all people feel safe within their homes and our city areas. We also need to make sure we protect our vulnerable citizens.

We need to continue to look forward in the cost of current infrastructure, and future projects. We are taking control of additional state highway and other roadways. We need to make sure we fully understand the full cost of these additional roadways and be fiscally responsible in our decisions.

Some of these financial burdens does not have to be just spending city tax dollars. We can explore and pass meaningful city regulations to protect our citizens and public areas. We can work with other community partners and non-governmental organizations to assist with providing resources for citizens in need, and we can explore Federal and State grants to assist with financing additional personnel and equipment resources.

We need to be fiscally responsible with our citizen’s tax dollars. We are currently in a pandemic and economic downturn. We need to make sure our tax dollars are being spent on city resources and projects which offer our community the greatest positive impacts. These types of fiscally responsible policies need to continue even in times of better financial stability.

Get In Touch

I want to thank you for taking the time to research my campaign and my stance on the issues surrounding the City of Sandy. I understand I have only broken the surface of the major issues facing Sandy. I truly would like to hear your feedback and welcome any & all questions. Please feel free to use the form below to contact me directly. I will get back to you within 48 hours. Once again, thank you for taking the time to check out my webpage, and I hope I have earned your support.

Thank you,
Rich