‘A great opportunity for us to reset’: New Iron County commissioner, 3 other county officials sworn in

PAROWAN — Iron County’s newly elected county officials were sworn in Monday.

New Iron County Commissioner Marilyn Wood signs paperwork following swearing-in ceremony, Parowan, Utah, Jan. 4, 2021 | Photo by Jeff RIchards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Judge Troy Little, a 5th District Court juvenile court justice, administered the oath of office to new County Commissioner Marilyn Wood and new County Assessor Karsten Reed, along with Recorder-Surveyor Carri Jeffries and Treasurer Nicole Rosenberg, both of whom were re-elected to their respective offices.

Wood replaces Alma Adams on the three-person County Commission, joining Mike Bleak and Paul Cozzens. Wood defeated outgoing assessor Cindy Bulloch in the Republican primary last June and was unopposed on the November general election ballot. Adams, who was present at Monday’s ceremony, is retiring after serving as a county commissioner for just over 14 years.

The other three county officials sworn in Monday also appeared unopposed on the November ballot, with Reed filling the office vacated by Bulloch. Jeffries, who was appointed as recorder-surveyor in 2018 when Debbie Johnson retired, won her first elected term. Meanwhile, Rosenberg won re-election after having been elected in 2014 when the treasurer’s office was on a six-year term.

During his brief comments before administering the oaths of office, Little talked about how the new year is a good time for introspection and goal setting. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to reset ourselves and recommit and kind of reflect about what we’ve done,” he said. “For Ms. Rosenberg and Ms. Jeffries, this is a great opportunity for them to kind of reflect on how they’ve done as elected officials and what they can do better. I think for Marilyn and for Karsten, it’s a great opportunity for you to kind of think about what your legacy is going to be to the people of Iron County.”

After advising the four officials to keep themselves both physically and mentally fit through exercise and meditation, Little issued one more simple challenge. 

“Our job is to do what’s in the best interest of as many citizens as you possibly can,” he said. “And so, the next thing that I think is super important is to every day do an act of kindness.”

“At the end of the day, people are not going to judge you by the policies that you implement or some of the decisions that you make,” he said, adding that they oftentimes will simply remember how they were treated.

Little said that as long people are treated fairly “and that you’ve given every matter your best, I think that’s all that the good people of Iron County expect of each of you.”

“So good luck to all of you. We are very hopeful and looking forward to great things from each of your time as elected officials.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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