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Former Heber City Councilor Erik Rowland will serve on county council

Erik Rowland
Erik Rowland

Former Heber City councilor Erik Rowland is getting back into local government. As the only candidate who filed to take over the Heber North seat on the Wasatch County Council, he’ll begin his term at the start of 2023.

Rowland’s a software developer who last held an elected position on the Heber City Council from 2012 to 2015.

Earlier this month, Rowland filed to run for Wasatch County Council seat C, representing the Heber North district. Since he is unopposed, he’ll take over next year for Danny Goode, who isn’t seeking a third term on the council.

Rowland says he’s already working with Goode to prepare for the job.

“We’ve started a dialogue, and so I look forward to reaching out to him a few more times and talking with current council members,” Rowland says. “We talked about growth, property taxation - just making sure there’s an assessment process in place just to make sure everyone’s property’s being assessed correctly. It’s kind of in that introductory phase right now - getting to know people and them getting to know me and starting from there.”

He says he also heard about oversight of special service districts he’ll be responsible for on the county council, notably for sewer and fire services.

In addition to district leaders and fellow councilors, he says he’ll also prioritize working with County Manager Dustin Grabau.

Land use, especially pending annexations of county land into Heber City, are topics he says he’s already familiar with from his time on the city council.

“I think the most valuable trait any elected official can have is just the ability to listen,” Rowland says. “And I think that time I served on city council, I was able to bring that and to give everyone a platform. When you can start from there, in my opinion, solutions can be found. It starts with listening to the people.”

Over the last decade, Rowland has been a regular presence in Wasatch County politics beyond his council term. In 2013, he started a campaign for mayor against Alan McDonald but withdrew from the race. In 2016, he ran for a county council seat but lost to Steve Farrell, who currently holds the position.

Corrected: March 21, 2022 at 10:39 AM MDT
A previous version of this story stated current Councilor Danny Goode wasn't seeking a second term. Goode is currently serving a second term and is not seeking a third term.
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