WASHINGTON TERRACE — A crowded field of candidates is looking to take on the task of being Washington Terrace city councilors.

With three at-large seats being contested, five candidates are vying to fill them, including incumbent Carey Seal and challengers Cheryl Parkinson, Brett DeGroot, Michael Thomas and Zunayid Zishan. Incumbents Scott Barker and Randy Ferlin opted not to run for reelection this year.

Zishan, a financial analyst, member of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office’s Volunteer in Police Service program and newcomer to public office, said he’s running because he sees a disconnect between the leadership of the city and the community they represent.

“Since I moved to Washington Terrace, I’ve been to every single City Council meeting except one,” he said. “I try to keep myself involved in the community as much as possible. … I’ve noticed there’s a distance between the citizens of the city and the leadership of the city. There’s hardly anyone that goes to the City Council anymore. I’ve spoken to my neighbors and other parents at my son’s school, Washington Terrace Elementary, and it turns out they’ve been to the City Council several times and they’ve talked to the leaders of the city on various issues and it turns out the majority of the time, there’s no response. Nothing gets taken care of and over time I’ve got to see that as well.”

Thomas, who works with MarketStar and the Google Higher Education Team, said he’s running because the opportunity arose.

“Now felt like the right time to throw my hat in and see if I can help make a change for the city,” he said.

Parkinson, who retired from teaching last year after 36 years in the Weber School District, said she’s running because she wants to serve the city’s citizens.

“I believe that through studying issues impacting our community and listening to the citizens in our community, the best decisions can be made,” she said.

Zishan said one of his goals, if elected, is to boost communication between the city and the residents.

“First will be transparency,” he said. “I want to bring our citizens into the fold of what’s going on in advance. The communication has to be better. And I want people to be part of the decision-making process.”

In addition to improving communication, Parkinson said she’d also place an emphasis on public safety if elected.

“I look to increase communication between citizens and the council members,” she said. “Safety is a must. The relationship with the Weber County Sheriff’s Department must remain strong. The successful volunteer fire department must be maintained.”

Furthermore, she added, “Fiscal responsibility is a must when budgeting taxpayers’ money. Economic development must have a positive impact on the quality of life of our citizens.”

If elected, Thomas said he’d like to work on city unity by reintroducing old programming.

“They used to have a Youth City Council,” he said. “I’ve seen how well it’s done n Riverdale and I think it’s something that would be really great to implement in the Terrace.”

Neither Seal nor DeGroot could immediately be reached for comment on their priorities.

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