The 2025 city council contest is Christen Thompson’s second run for elected office. He said he learned a lot from the 2023 race, when he was the runner-up in all three races.
“I think a lot of what I had to say resonated with a lot of people, a sizable minority,” he said. “The importance of preserving open space, creating trails, creating parks, and then concentrating the building downtown: building up versus building out.”
He said he’d like to prevent sprawl as future development plans come before the city council.
Thompson is a member of Heber City’s Parks, Open Space, Trails and Trees committee and said that experience has shown him how elected officials could support more multi-use trails.
“We made a recommendation to put a trail on 300 South, an eight-foot-wide bike path,” he said. “And the city council overruled it and put a sidewalk there instead. That’s great to have a sidewalk – more walking space, pedestrian space – but that’s not a bike path.”
He said if elected, he would advocate for infrastructure that makes it easier for locals to bike or walk instead of adding cars to the roads. He also supports access to public transportation.
Thompson, a software engineer, volunteers with trail maintenance in his spare time. He spent a few years in Heber as a child and moved back to the city in 2020.
In addition to his passion for trails, Thompson said he cares about environmental protection.
“Clean air and clean water, I think, and access to nature are my top three things,” he said. “And so, the way to preserve that, you have to design a city that meets those requirements.”
Thompson said he will prioritize transparency and listening to locals if elected.
He’s one of nine candidates running for two open seats on the council. An Aug. 12 primary election will determine which four candidates are on the ballot Nov. 4.
