Ames served one term in the mayor’s office before opting not to run again last year. He has also served on the Francis Planning Commission and City Council. When he ran for mayor in 2017, he won nearly 80% of the vote against incumbent Lee Snelgrove.
Ames is an attorney. His firm, Ames and Ames, has offices in Park City and Las Vegas. He said 70% of his business focuses on the transportation industry, in addition to having construction and hospitality clients.
Ames touted his experience as an East Side mayor in preparing him to serve on the county council. He said the relationships he's made make him uniquely positioned to pursue the kind of regional planning work he says is necessary.
“We don't operate in a vacuum. We have to do planning together because we affect each other, we’re on each other's borders. So, as mayor, that was something I worked on quite a bit was to try and work together and communicate and plan with these other communities,” Ames said. “And as a member of the council, I would like to do the same thing, continue that dialogue and continue the communications and continue the regional planning together. Because, like I said earlier, we all have the same needs.”
In addition to serving in elected and appointed offices in Francis, Ames said that, while mayor, he served on Summit County committees that focused on transportation and planning for growth.
He said the council could use another voice that represents the East Side, in addition to Councilor Doug Clyde.
“The East Side needs a voice that understands the East Side, and that the East Side residents can recognize as a voice for them. And I'm the only person who fills that role,” he said.
Ames is the first Republican to run for county council since 2016, when fellow Francis resident Tal Adair lost to now-retiring Councilor Glenn Wright.
Former Snyderville Basin planning commissioner Canice Harte, a Democrat, announced that he, too, will seek the seat now occupied by Wright. That sets up a race in the fall between Ames and Harte.
Council Chair Chris Robinson has said he will seek reelection and, as of Monday, no one had announced a bid to challenge him.
The county political parties will select one candidate each to appear on November’s ballot. Candidates must file to run for office between 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 28, and 5 p.m. Friday, March 4.
