Ryan Dickey and Jack Rubin agreed Park City is great. The pair shared where their platforms differ before hundreds online and in person at the Park City Library’s Jim Santy Auditorium.
“We've got the bones of an absolutely magical place,” Rubin said at the candidate forum. “The trust in government, the transparency, the value that people see, are all low and declining. I think that's a shame.”
Rubin also emphasized he wants to make Park City better, and that doesn’t make him a “hater.” He was responding to a question about his campaign from Dickey, who sits on the city council.
“I feel like there's quite a big delta between, ‘We should always try to make a city better that's already phenomenal’ and ‘Take Park City Back, and everyone seems to be in the tank to a special interest, a resort or a developer,'” Dickey said. He said that’s not the city or city government he sees.
When asked about the biggest mistake the city council has made in recent years, both candidates’ answers related to Vail Resorts’ Park City Mountain.
Dickey said, early in his term on council, he wasn’t aware the city could have intervened in a dispute over upgrades to Silverlode Express and Eagle Express.
“Not to override the code — the code is the code — but to sit down with Vail and settle the dispute and not let it go as far as it went,” Dickey said. “If you've been waiting on a lift line and seeing what's happening at that mountain over the last four years, or wondering about the lack of investment in that mountain, you know, I think you have the city to blame, and I don't think we handled that great.”
Rubin said he would have worked to broker an end to the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association’s strike this year, which he thinks will affect the city for years to come.
“Mine also revolves around Vail, but it's something different. It would be: not intervening in the patrollers’ strike. I think that was a good opportunity that was foregone,” he said. “And just to talk about the lift — there's a development agreement. I'm not a fan of circumventing legal contracts. I think if you do that once you're off to the races.”
Candidates shared how they would accomplish their goals, given Park City’s mayor seldom votes on decisions.
“My reason for pursuing the mayor's seat, as opposed to the city council, is I think it plays to my experience and my strengths,” Rubin said. “I've led a number of organizations, both commercially and not-for-profit, where I've been able to bring diverse people together to form a common mission, find overlap, deal with each other with respect and move forward.”
Dickey emphasized the influence a mayor has on meeting agendas and staff operations.
“The mayor is the only person on council — mayor is a member of council — with an office in City Hall,” he said. “The mayor influences the agenda. The mayor manages the city manager day to day.”
The elected mayor will propose and vote on the next city manager, since Matt Dias left the city in September.
The next mayor will also inherit seats on the steering committee and host communities committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Dickey and Rubin discussed a wide range of topics Wednesday including housing, transportation and specific areas like Main Street and Clark Ranch.
Watch the full forum here.
The municipal general election is Nov. 4.
