r On January 16, newly appointed Springville City Council member Brett Nelson was sworn in to fill the position left vacant by the election of Mayor Rick Child.
Nelson was appointed by a unanimous vote of the city council on January 9. He was one of eleven candidates considered for the position. The candidates answered dozens of questions during the public meeting that went on for nearly two hours. Candidates included Genevieve Baker, Craig Conover, Brent Johnson, Stacy Ann Johnson, Brett Nelson, Donald Olsen, Reva Beth Russell, Annette Sorensen, Warren Vaughn, Lisa Willey and Frank Young.
Nelson was defeated by a small margin in the general election, but says he gained valuable experience from running.
“I really worked hard and knocked on a lot of doors and go out and met a lot of people,” he said. He’ll use what he learned from them to keep his finger on the pulse of Springville’s residents.
Nelson said he was inspired to seek a city council position by his work with the Springville Youth City Council over the last few years.
“I watched these kids and when I was in HS I only thought about hanging out with my friends, but I watched these kids giving of their time and talents to help the community,” Nelson said. “It was really these kids that inspired me and seeing them serve and work as hard as they did.”
Nelson said his goal as a council member is to help Springville keep the small town feel while being business friendly and building the community. He hopes to put strategic plans in place to handle growth for years to come. He feels this is especially important on Main Street.
Nelson is married to Renee Goodrich Nelson, and they have four children and three grandchildren.
