Mark is a long-term Valley resident. His pioneer ancestors settled in the Ogden Valley in the early 1800’s. Mark and his family have called Eden home since 1981.
In 2022, several long-term Valley residents and elected State government representatives recruited Mark to lead the effort to create a new city. Since then, Mark and the other sponsors have created a non-profit organization, obtained donations to pay for the State-required land survey, and obtained the signatures of hundreds of Valley landowners for the petition.
Mark is superbly qualified to lead this effort, having been a city attorney for Farmington and North Ogden, a Justice Court Judge (Summit County), General Counsel for a major corporation (Thiokol Aerospace), an attorney in the Department of Defense, and an active-duty Navy attorney (a real Navy JAG!)
A fifth-generation resident of Eden, I see the need for the incorporation of Ogden Valley so we as a community can gain a representative voice for our unique needs, vision, and desires. For the decades that Weber County has been led by a three-member county commission, it has been common for Ogden Valley to have little to no local representation. And in a system where votes matter, a minority of representation often equates to no representation. Also, our American governmental system of checks and balances, set up to rein in overreaching elected officials, is pretty much non-existent for Ogden Valley residents who have to compete with the larger voting population located on the other side of the mountain. When an elected official adopts or votes down a law or ordinance that the people in Ogden Valley want—or don’t want—the legal recourse is a ballot initiative to adopt a desired ordinance, or a referendum to repeal a bad one. However, in our case, the small population in Ogden Valley has to convince people from then entire county to support them. This can be difficult for more local issues that don’t impact those living along the Wasatch Front. Primarily because of geography, demographics, and more individualized local concerns on this side of the mountain, the people of Ogden Valley are, pretty much, left without a voice. We can’t even vote a bad representative out of office. Even if all voters here wanted to oust an elected official that has harmed them, their vote can be overridden by those living in the lower valley. In addition, taxpayers on this side of the mountain are financially supporting the taxpayers and their issues and needs on the other side of the mountain, often, at the expense of our own needs. Again, Ogden Valley residents are shortchanged because of a lack of adequate representation.
Support the incorporation of Ogden Valley so we can have a voice in local government, which impacts every aspect of our lives. We don’t need a tea party to rid ourselves of taxation without representation, but we do need everyone’s support of the upcoming ballot initiative and the vote to incorporate.
I’ve lived in the valley for about 3 years. I’m a retired mechanical engineer and project manager for various large defense contractors and IT companies. I got involved in the incorporation initiative because I attended several of the commissioner meetings and community meetings and heard people’s concerns but I didn’t hear a viable long-term solution. It occurred to me that the only way we could control our fate was to have more local control. So, I decided to volunteer my project management skills to help organize an effort to incorporate the valley. At least the community would then have a choice to maintain the status quo or try something different.
Why I am for incorporation:
I moved to the Ogden Valley when I was 12 years old. I never knew what a gift these mountains were until I moved away and after 10 years came back to raise my children.
Today I own multiple businesses in Eden and watch as local voices are brushed aside. The residents of the valley are intelligent and see first hand the issues we face. Ogden Valley locals should be determining our future as we make hard decisions ahead. Having only 1.8% of the vote is never going to get better and without any political voice, we have no control over the destiny of Ogden Valley.
Ogden Valley has been my home for 26 years. I have come to love it wanting to preserve it for generations to come after me.
For 25 years I have worked with The Ogden Valley News which has shown me what a special place with such beautiful vistas and ways to explore it. I feel that the incorporation effort will help to sustain the Valley we know and love giving us the choice to decide the future direction of it.