About
Greetings! My name is Mark Nafziger. I’m a psychologist, and have worked in Utah State University’s Counseling and Prevention Services for almost 36 years. I love Logan and Cache Valley, and am running for Logan Seat 3 on the Cache County Council. I hope to use the skills and knowledge I’ve developed during my career to serve my community and to help protect Cache County’s character and quality of life during the challenging times ahead.
I grew up in Ohio, and moved to Utah in 1990 after completing my Ph.D. at Ohio State University. In addition to counseling USU students, for the past 35 years I’ve volunteered for the State of Utah’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team. The CISM team provides debriefings and educational presentations to emergency services workers (police, firefighters, EMT’s etc.) dealing with job-related traumatic experiences.
I’ve been married to my wife Cleo, a Utah native, for 45 years. We have five grown children and four growing grandchildren. I spend much of my free time gardening and doing yard work, walking (often with my dog Tavi), and enjoying Cache Valley’s mountains.
Where is Seat 3?
Don’t know if you can vote for Mark Nafziger? We got you! Cache County Council Logan Seat #3 includes precincts 5,6,7,8,10,11,14,19, and 20 which is up by Utah State University, parts of the Island and Boulevard as well as the north half of Cliffside.
*Fun Fact* Taken as a whole, these precincts voted for both Patrick Belmont and Kamala Harris in their respective elections.
Priorities
Giving people a choice and a voice.
Listening to constituents and others in county government.
Widening the range of perspectives heard.
Government responsiveness and engagement
Improve management of taxpayer dollars by strengthening checks and balances.
Contributing to transparency, and sound decision making by moving beyond single party decision making.
Increased fiscal accountability
Stewardship for all approach conserving open space and the opportunity to hunt, fish, hike, bike and recreate outdoors.
Prioritizing smart growth and applying proven land use planning.
Making sure decisions benefit everyone, not just a select few.
Protecting Cache County’s character and quality of life
Thoughts on the Stratos data center
The recently MIDA-approved Stratos hyperscale data center project is a grave mistake which aptly illustrations the reasons I’m running for a seat on the Cache County Council.
Despite its potential to drastically impact the quality of life of Box Elder County and northern Utah residents, MIDA, who’s unelected members are appointed by Utah’s governor and Republican-controlled legislature, rammed through this massive data center project with no environmental impact studies and zero public input. While MIDA’s chairman (Utah Senate Majority Leader Adams) has received over one hundred thousand dollars in campaign donations from Stratos developers, Box Elder and other northern Utah residents will be the one who pay the prices when it comes to higher energy bills. In addition, our state is already struggling with chronic drought and the increased risk that the Great Salt Lake will dry up, an event which would be an economic and environmental catastrophe for everyone living in northern Utah.
Closed-door meetings and decisions which prioritize the needs of rich developers over the voices and well-being of everyone living in northern Utah demonstrate a shocking lack of accountability and exemplify government run amok. While hopefully there are no data centers in Cache County’s future, we need to make sure future development serves the interests of our county as a whole, not just that of a few wealthy developers (or in the case of Box Elder County, a foreign billionaire investor).
Make a Contribution
Community and collaboration are at the heart of any successful campaign. Any contribution you can make is so helpful and I would be honored to have your support!
Contact Me
If you want to learn more, invite me to an event, or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Nafzigerforcountycouncil@gmail.com
