Bountiful City’s 2025 Municipal Election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, giving voters the opportunity to elect a new Mayor and two new City Council members.
Here at The Bountiful Forum, we spoke with all the candidates for both the mayoral and city council races to get more information on their positions and ideas so that you, as a Bountiful resident, can make a more informed decision about who to vote for.
Here is a summary of our meeting with city council candidate Dan Bell.
Who Is Dan Bell?
Born in Idaho, Dan Bell’s family moved to Bountiful when he was six years old. He attended elementary through high school here, and played basketball for Bountiful High. After attending college at Dixie and Utah State, Bell and his wife returned to Bountiful to raise their family and have been here ever since.
After earning his degree, Bell started his career as a CPA (certified public accountant) focusing on taxes. He wanted to help people save money and manage their finances better. He then became a third-party administrator (TPA) for 401(k) retirement plans, managing plan setup, compliance, and coordination with financial advisors. Later, he earned his financial licenses and expanded into financial advising, which he found more rewarding because of the client-focused work.
For years, Bell balanced both TPA and advisory work. Then a few years ago he sold his TPA practice to focus solely on financial advising. He is now a partner at Iron Gate Global Advisors in North Salt Lake, helping clients with financial planning and retirement strategies.
In addition to his financial expertise, Bell has served on the Bountiful Power Commission for 12 years.
Priorities for the City Council
If he is elected to the city council, Bell’s top priorities include focusing on maintaining core systems such as roads, utilities, and water, and ensuring that Bountiful continues to provide reliable essential services. He wants to bring his own expertise to bear in those areas.
“To some degree, the city is like running a business,” he explained. “there’s some different goals and objectives … But the budgets, the financial aspects of it, I’m pretty comfortable with all that.”
Bell has also taken an interest in the city’s ongoing general plan process, which will guide development and zoning decisions for the next 10 to 20 years. Bell wants to see the plan implemented thoughtfully, ensuring that it reflects community values while also preparing for future needs.
“It’s not just a vague document,” Bell said in our interview. “It’s something the planning commission and city council will use in the future to make real decisions.”
Economic Development and Budget Management
Speaking about the economic development of Bountiful, Bell wants to revitalize and support Bountiful’s historic Main Street. As a city council member, he would explore ways to attract small businesses and strengthen its local economy while preserving Bountiful’s distinctive character.
“I don’t think Bountiful needs incredible change,” Bell said. He believes Bountiful’s strong sense of neighborhood identity and connection among residents are part of what makes it special. But by increasing the amount of sales tax brought in, Bountiful could be bolstered in a way that both grows and maintains the city.
Bell also emphasized the importance of distinguishing between “needs and wants” in city budgeting. “People don’t want higher taxes,” he said, “but they do want reliable services.” He said that means looking forward city leaders will need to make hard decisions about what’s truly necessary and what can wait. Bell noted an example of that is making sure that electric grids across the city stay up to date. Everyone wants better, nicer things in Bountiful, but no one wants power outages.
Bell also noted that inflation is an ongoing challenge for both residents and the city, and that maintaining infrastructure such as power substations and water systems will require continual, mindful reinvestment.
Community Engagement and Civic Participation
Bell says reaching residents who aren’t regularly engaged in local government is one of the city’s biggest challenges. While newsletters, social media, and other digital tools help, many residents still only hear about issues when decisions are nearly finalized or finished.
Bell noted that the decline of local newspapers has reduced community connectedness and stressed the importance of consistent outreach across multiple channels. Public input, such as comments on the city’s general plan, can help shape decisions, but keeping residents informed requires ongoing effort.
“I don’t think there’s a turnkey solution,” Bell said. “I think it’s a lot of different little things that we have to keep trying and see what works for our community.” Bell is open to looking for solutions, and he said he thinks it will take a constant effort from the city and the community to stay connected.
Housing and Smart Redevelopment
For Bell, addressing housing in Bountiful presents unique challenges, as there are limited opportunities for large new developments compared with other cities like Lehi. As a city leader, Bell would want work within existing spaces and balance development with respect for current property owners.
His emphasis would be on carefully introducing light density housing, which includes duplexes and townhomes, in appropriate areas, like parts of Main Street, while maintaining lower density in neighborhoods where it may not fit, such as Orchard Drive.
Bell acknowledged that while there are no simple solutions, the problem can be approached with planning, respect for property rights, and adaptation to the city’s constraints.
How/Where to Vote
For more information on how/where to vote, you can visit Bountiful City’s website here, or Davis County’s website here.
I’m voting for Dan Bell but I request that the low density housing plans be removed from the city plans. Thank you.
I have worked closely with Dan Bell on the Bountiful Power Commission for several years, and I whole-heartedly applaud his City Council candidacy. His leadership gifts are exceptional, and he has unerringly sound judgment. I trust him to be steady in good times and hard times, and you can trust him, too.