Incumbent Mayor Heidi Franco and Councilmember Scott Phillips are running to be the city’s next mayor.
At a forum moderated by the Heber Leadership Academy and KPCW, the two candidates talked about contentious policy issues and their approaches to city government.
The two differed in their opinions about downtown revitalization.
Phillips said he thinks ideas like the “C Street” pedestrian area make sense because they would enable people to gather away from the traffic on Main Street.
Since Main Street is also a highway, the Utah Department of Transportation controls the speed limit and traffic lights on the road.
“I don’t want to gather on Main Street, at least until the bypass is built,” he said. “I really want to focus as a city on what [we can] control. And UDOT, we don’t have control, so C Street revitalization is important.”
Franco said she believes it should be up to the private sector to redevelop downtown, not the city.
“I am not in favor of the city becoming a redeveloper,” she said. “We don’t have the budget for that. We need to let the private market build sustainable growth instead of trying to subsidize this.”
The Heber Valley bypass is another top issue on which the two diverge. UDOT is deciding between two possible routes and plans to announce its choice in December.
Franco said she backs Alternative A, the option which would keep traffic on U.S. 40 until 900 North, then divert west of downtown.
“There’s many reasons I support that, but please remember, I keep my campaign promises to protect open space, and that is a major thing,” she said. “Route A will protect that open space.”
Phillips said he supports Alternative B, which crosses through part of the North Fields, because fewer homes and businesses along north U.S. 40 would be affected.
“Every home on the side of that road would be gone,” he said, referring to Alternative A. “Large business buildings that have just been built on the other side of the road would be gone, because you’re going to have a frontage road on both sides.”
Besides concrete policy issues, the candidates also talked about their leadership styles.
In Heber City, the mayor only votes in special circumstances, such as breaking a tie on the city council.
Phillips said he believes the mayor’s limited power can be a strength.
“Not having a vote, the power lies in bringing people together,” he said. “And that’s my plan: I would talk with those that I don’t agree with.”
Franco asked residents to look to her record over the past four years as a model of her leadership style.
“That took research, persuasion, communication and collaboration,” she said. “I hope you’ll look for that proven leadership in communication and collaboration.”
When the candidates were asked about decisions they regret from their time in office, Franco told voters she has remained true to her campaign promises.
“Boy, that’s hard to come up with, because I’ve stood up for principles for you,” she said. “I’ve stood up for what you’ve wanted, and I have stood up for open space and being a fiscal conservative.”
Phillips said he is striving to become more empathetic.
“I would say the main thing I regret is making politics personal,” he said. “I regret things I’ve said and how I’ve treated Heidi; I regret things I’ve done to make things personal that should never have been.”
Heber voters will vote for two city council seats in addition to the mayor race. The election is Nov. 4.
