Paul Cozzens Iron County Commissioner

06/23/2026

I have received lots of calls today.

Verified *****

VOTE today! You can vote in person today at the Parowan Courthouse, Enoch city offices and Cedar City Festival Hall or use your ballot but use a drop box NOT USPS! Feel free to call and visit if you would like! 590-7618

06/19/2026

Friendly reminder, do not mail your ballot in. Use one of the many drop boxes in your area!

06/09/2026

Statement Regarding Transparency, Oversight, and Commission Reassignments

Today, after raising concerns about a May 26 closed session, the Iron County Commission voted to remove me as liaison over two county departments.

My concerns were straightforward.
I requested release of the closed-session record to the fullest extent permitted by law because I believe the public deserves confidence that closed meetings are being used only for the narrow purposes authorized under Utah law.

As I stated during the meeting, I learned of the closed session while watching the commission meeting remotely. I was never notified beforehand, nor was the elected official over the issue, despite serving as the commission liaison over the departments involved.

After joining the discussion by phone and later reviewing the recording, I became concerned that portions of the discussion may have extended beyond the limited scope authorized for a personnel closed session.

I also learned that elected officials with direct supervisory responsibility over the matter being discussed were not present during the closed session.

Rather than addressing those concerns directly, Commissioner Bleak made a motion to remove my liaison assignments.

Citizens can decide for themselves whether that sequence of events strengthens or weakens public confidence in county government.
Transparency matters because government functions best when decisions are made openly and accountability is applied consistently.

That principle should apply to every department and every elected official.

For example, several years ago concerns were raised by our auditor regarding issues at the Children's Justice Center. According to public information, taxpayers are now responsible for repaying $358,895 of grant funds intended to serve child victims. More recently, public reports indicate that approximately $160,000 was embezzled from the Planning Department by another county employee.

Both departments were overseen by commissioner Bleak

To make matters worse, when the CJC issue came up years ago, I called for an extensive audit based on information from the county auditor at the time. Commissioner Bleak assured those of us involved that he would handle it.

These are serious matters involving public funds.

The purpose of raising these issues is not to assign blame without evidence, but to ask an important question: If commission liaison assignments are being evaluated based on departmental performance and oversight, should that standard be applied equally across all departments and all commissioners?

Public trust requires consistency.
My position remains the same today as it was before this meeting:

“Secret” closed sessions are not appropriate.

Closed sessions should be rare and limited to the purposes authorized by law.
Concerns about government conduct should be addressed, not avoided.
Accountability should be applied consistently, regardless of who is involved.
And when questions arise, transparency should be the default, not the exception.

06/06/2026

05/17/2026

There’s been a lot of debate lately about data centers, growth, and the fear of what “might happen” to our communities. It reminds me of another controversy from Southern Utah’s past.
After the massive PEPCON rocket fuel plant explosion in Henderson, Nevada in 1988, the company relocated operations to an isolated area outside Cedar City under the name WECCO (Western Electrochemical Company). The Henderson explosion was catastrophic, it killed 2 people, injured hundreds, and damaged buildings for miles.
When the company proposed moving near Cedar City, many people feared the worst. Residents worried it would destroy the community, contaminate water, hurt property values, and permanently damage the area. There was intense opposition and deep concern about the unknown.
But today, decades later, Cedar City still thrives.

I was sitting in church today and heard a man speak who said he had worked at WECCO for 31 years. That really struck me and made me think.

Here was a project many people once believed would ruin the community, yet instead it provided stable jobs, careers, and economic opportunity for generations of local families.
That doesn’t mean every project is perfect or that concerns should be ignored. Communities absolutely should ask hard questions and demand accountability. But history also teaches us that fear of the unknown can sometimes lead us to assume the absolute worst before we’ve seen the actual outcome.

Growth and change most always creates anxiety. New industries generally face skepticism. Sometimes those concerns are justified. Sometimes they aren’t.
But it’s worth remembering: not every feared project becomes the disaster people imagine. Some become part of the fabric of a community and bless many families.

05/11/2026

“People say they hate data centers while posting about it from three devices connected to one.”

“Anti–data center posts are always uploaded… through a data center.”

“Apparently everyone hates data centers right up until the Wi-Fi slows down.”

“Saying you don’t need data centers while using smartphones, streaming TV, and cloud apps is like saying you don’t need roads while driving to the meeting.”

“Some people oppose data centers more passionately than they oppose their screen time.”

“They say data centers ruin modern life… on Facebook, using cloud storage, over fiber internet.”

“The cloud isn’t floating in the sky—it’s a building somewhere.”

“If data centers disappeared tomorrow, half the complaints about them couldn’t even be posted.”

“People want all the benefits of the digital world, just not the building that makes it work.”

“Everybody’s against data centers until Netflix buffers.”

“The internet runs on hopes, dreams… and data centers.”

“Data centers are basically the electric substations of the internet age.”

04/30/2026

This is a great program! My daughter in law is helping and asked me to share!

Bridle Up Hope- Cedar City is a non-profit equine assisted learning program with a mission to inspire hope, confidence, and resilience in girls and women through horses and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Open house April 30- May 1 6-8 pm