Sandy voter guide 2023

City Council

At large

Voters will select up to two candidates.

Jim Bennett

Occupation: Self-employed marketing consultant.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

You cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. The housing affordability crisis is precipitated by high demand and limited supply, and the only way to increase supply is to consider high-density housing. I would like to focus high-density housing in Sandy in the area near City Hall as part of the Cairns plan. That would relieve the demand to put up higher-density housing in areas near single-family homes.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

Homelessness is an endemic problem that requires coordinated efforts among state, county and municipal governments to address it. Isolated efforts in Sandy to confront homelessness are not likely to succeed unless they are done in concert with Salt Lake County particularly. I would be eager to participate in a coordinated approach.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge Sandy faces is growth. The city is going to continue to grow whether we like it or not, which means we have a responsibility to manage growth responsibly and sustainably to alleviate the housing shortage while still preserving the quality of life that attracted people to Sandy in the first place.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I do an uncanny Mick Jagger imitation.

Brooke Christensen

Occupation: Stay-at-home mother and community volunteer.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

Think of Sandy’s housing options as high-density, middle- and existing neighborhoods. There is a large gap of middle housing ($200,000 to $400,000, owner-occupied units) in Sandy. Middle-housing options are where I want to focus. It will help bring younger residents into Sandy’s aging population. The city has designated the Cairns or downtown area for high-density housing (9000 South to 10600 South and State Street to Interstate 15). I would prefer to keep the high-density options in the Cairns area. Most importantly, I want to protect and preserve Sandy’s existing neighborhoods.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

None of us has the answers to homelessness. If we did, we wouldn’t be facing this increasingly growing issue. As a volunteer in our community, I have cleaned up homeless camps, run food drives, worked with schools and churches, and served meals to help the homeless population. The families facing homelessness utilize existing services to get job training, education, food and housing services significantly more than the single homeless population. For families, there should be a focus from the city on getting the information on existing resources to them. For the remaining homeless population, I would focus on sobriety programs, which lead to job and temporary housing options.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

1. Crime. We need to make sure we are properly funding public safety to ensure Sandy’s neighborhoods remain safe.

2. Funding the city. There are many capital improvement projects that Sandy does not have a way to pay for (sidewalk repair, street maintenance, Fire Station No. 31, public works building, parks and recreation building, Alta Canyon, aging fleet, etc.). We need to implement long-term strategies to handle our aging infrastructure while keeping taxes and fees low.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

My top three obsessions are: my family, reading and volunteering in our community.

Aaron Dekeyzer

Occupation: Realtor and community organizer.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

I will work to incentivize developers to build affordable housing in the Cairns. By focusing here, we can build affordable housing within a multiuse zone, near transit, so that owning a car is not necessary. Simultaneously, we will invest in a walkable and bikeable community that promotes healthy lifestyles. I do support higher density because population growth is inevitable, but it has to be located in the right place, as described above, and planned so that it does not overwhelm our resources or infrastructure. I do not support density in the foothills, the mouth of the canyon and other sensitive areas. I also believe in preserving neighborhood continuity, and oppose most infill high-density developments.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

Sandy is working to create assisted living for medically fragile people who are coming out of homelessness. It is not a big issue in Sandy compared to other cities, but, as we know, it can spiral out of control quickly without proper planning. The root cause of homelessness is actually housing shortage. Utah is 40,000 units short, and so Sandy will need to invest in development and incentivize the construction of affordable housing. Additionally, I would use my connections at the state level, and nonprofits like the Nomad Alliance, Shelter the Homeless, Alliance House and others to create a network that can work to solve the issue. I would also learn from cities like Las Vegas, which have an excellent track record of creating effective programs to end homelessness. Finally, I have canvassed neighborhoods with homelessness and will work to directly engage these people to provide them with needed resources.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

Two years ago, I knocked over 10,000 doors and the number one resident concern is speeding in neighborhoods. Now, more residents are talking to me about distracted driving. Sandy has numerous east-west neighborhood streets that are 30 mph and 35 mph, which is too high and unsafe compared to 25 mph. I would work to decrease these speed limits and increase patrol and enforcement of our laws. Additionally, I support appropriate funding for police and fire because public safety is my number one issue. With additional funding, we would be able to have more officers working to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I am an amateur astrophotographer and have consulted numerous cities to improve their streetlights and policies.

Cyndi Sharkey

Occupation: Executive recruiter, self-employed.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

Sandy is almost entirely built out. That means development and redevelopment options are limited. Housing affordability has affected Sandy, as all other Wasatch Front communities, and we should do as much as possible to keep residents, families and businesses firmly rooted in our wonderful community. That means creating a sustainable housing model for multiple stages of life and income. Denser housing can be a part of that solution, provided it blends well with existing neighborhoods, and deliberate efforts are made to minimize overly negative impacts to traffic, water, utilities, schools and other elements. Careful and intentional planning is key. As a former planning commissioner, I have valuable experience to add to these important decisions.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

No city can turn its back on the homeless issue. With the dual plight of housing (in)affordability and sky-high rents, our communities stand the chance of seeing an increase in homelessness. Shelter is not the only solution; resources are equally critical. Shelter paired closely with health care and a wide array of support services and training are the best formula for a path to success. Proximity and easy access to those important resources are key. Cities don’t often have the funding or expertise to provide those resources directly, so partnerships that both fund and render the necessary services are paramount.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

Growth is a continuing challenge. Many of the challenges we face are a byproduct of that growth, whether it be within our city or passing through it. Traffic, congestion, crowds, housing and usage of our city resources, roads, parks and venues all create increased pressures on the city budget. Balancing the budget, providing all the resources the residents and businesses expect, and doing so while striving to keep taxes low is my commitment to my constituents. Another less-discussed challenge is communication. Sandy makes significant effort to get out accurate and reliable information to our residents, but it’s hard to know how to most effectively get information out. Many people tell me they don’t watch the news or read newspapers. Some won’t follow social media, and some get their information only from social media. It makes it challenging to keep residents accurately informed and involved on important issues.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I love to mow my lawn. Don’t bother offering to help. I’ll turn you down every time.

District 4

Scott Earl

Occupation: Sandy City Council, semi-retired.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

Density needs to be evaluated by professional planners, planning commission and our residents. I support affordable housing and think we need to be open to new ideas. It is important for younger residents, future generations, our kids and grandkids to be able to make Sandy their home. I think we can do this and continue keeping our neighborhoods safe and beautiful while providing a high quality of life in our city.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

Every city needs to be a part in providing realistic and effective ways to help those less fortunate. Again, the professional planning staff needs to be at the center of making recommendations and evaluating projects. I support current funding levels from CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) and other city funds to help with this difficult issue. The answers need to come from our city staff, administration, our citizens and the development community. I believe our city can achieve positive results and assist the state with future solutions.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

Our biggest challenge is similar to the majority of our residents and people in general. One of our biggest challenges in our city is inflation — cost of living, cost of goods and services all have risen substantially. We, as a city, need to continue finding efficient, cost-effective solutions to these challenges. We built a lot of our infrastructure, parks, trails,and buildings with development fees. Our city grew fast during the 1980s and ‘90s and now, 30 to 40 years later, some of this infrastructure needs to be updated or replaced. This will be costly and needs to be carefully planned for and decisions made on how to pay for it. Also, keeping our professional department staff, fire and police employees fairly compensated is important to the professional service delivery to residents. Keeping our employees in Sandy will require our city to be competitive with other government employees.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I love nature and being outdoors. My favorite TV show is “Finding Bigfoot” and while camping on the trails, I’m on the lookout.

Marci Houseman

Occupation: Owner of Chasing Impact.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

As a current member of the Sandy City Council, I have been advocating for mixed-use development as a land use tool for commercial areas in need of redevelopment. Sandy has little land available for new development. Therefore, our focus must be on revitalizing the areas that are in need of redevelopment and introducing higher-density housing into those areas via mixed-use zoning. Our city’s commercial areas are in close proximity to transit options, which make them ideal for higher-density housing. As a council member, I have put a priority on homeownership. Mixed-use development protects existing neighborhoods, supports economic redevelopment in our commercial areas and makes homeownership a more viable option for those who would like to call Sandy home.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

Addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness is a shared responsibility across all communities that are experiencing the impact. As an elected official, I believe it is essential to partner with those who have invested significant resources in an effort to understand the root causes of homelessness, the solutions that have an evidence of impact and the resources that best move people forward on their journey from homelessness to self-reliance. Shelter the Homeless is one such organization. Sandy expects to receive a general development application from Shelter the Homeless for a medically vulnerable people (MVP) project in Sandy. According to Shelter the Homeless, the MVP is a “best-practice model of care that focuses on providing health care services for the medically vulnerable.”

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge Sandy faces is economic redevelopment. In many areas of our city, we have empty storefronts and run-down commercial areas. Due to shifts in consumer behavior, retail and office space are in need of transformation. As elected officials, we need to be thinking about successful approaches in repurposing commercial areas of our city. In addition to the mixed-use development that I mentioned above, redevelopment efforts need to take into account the need consumers have for experiences in combination with retail. Sports tourism is playing a significant role in providing economic vitality and tax revenue in other cities. I have been exploring sports tourism as one example of economic redevelopment and will continue to do so.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I am a proud Army brat and former drum major of BYU’s marching band.