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Former Hollywood producer Bob Sertner announces Park City Council bid

Park City Council candidate Bob Sertner, in front of the Marsac Building.
Bob Sertner
Park City Council candidate Bob Sertner, in front of the Marsac Building.

Deer Valley resident and former entertainment executive Bob Sertner has tossed his name in the race for Park City Council.

Bob Sertner has worked as an executive producer on a wide variety of television movies and series, including the ABC drama “Blood & Oil,” which was the first ever production to film at the Utah Film Studios in Quinn’s Junction.

He said he’s developed and produced over $1 billion worth of scripted entertainment throughout his career working in Los Angeles.

“The interesting thing about being an executive producer in television is you have to stay at 40,000 feet and not get caught in the weeds,” Sertner said. “You have lots of people on the set who get caught in the weeds and somebody has to stay above it all and try to figure out where the big picture is going. And so that’s a skill that ultimately will help as I start to navigate what being on city council is like, the ability to stay big picture and not get caught in the weeds.”

Sertner said he wants to use that big picture mindset on the topic of growth.

“We all want to keep Park City, Park City. Nobody more than me,” he said. “But we also have to be cognizant of the challenges that are facing us with everything from massive development, growth in Utah, the Olympics… And so somebody who’s willing to step back, take a look at the big picture and say, 'How do we wisely grow,' accept the things that are going to happen — we can’t stop them — and make smart choices out of them.” 

Sertner bought his home in Deer Valley 20 years ago, and became a full-time resident three years ago. He’s a member of the city’s LGBTQ+ task force and currently sits on the committee looking at the city-owned land that has been envisioned as an arts and culture district.

He’s also been the vice president of the Bellevue Court HOA for the last 10 years.

Sertner called the last city election “negative,” and said he wants to avoid that at all costs this year. He said it’s important to keep the polarization of national politics out of Park City affairs.

“I really feel like we’re… I call it 'A Tale of Two Park Cities.' And when I say that I mean it’s: historic and new, resident and visitor, wealthy and working class. We’ve all forgotten how to talk to each other and communicate, and we need to listen to each other and work together to bridge differences, while we try to figure out a path forward.”

Outside of incumbent Park City Councilmember Ryan Dickey, who has said he plans to run for reelection, Sertner is the third resident to announce their bid for city council.

There are three city council seats open for election this year. The election filing period opens June 1 for qualified 84060 residents.

The deadline to file candidacy with the city recorder’s office at the Marsac Building is June 7.

More election information