Recent guest editorials in the Park Record offered contrasting views of Park City elected officials’ ability to cooperate with regional partners.
With municipal elections in the Wasatch Back less than a month away, it is not uncommon for candidates to gather endorsements from influential figures before votes are cast.
Park City’s mayoral race between incumbent Andy Beerman and challenger and current councilor Nann Worel, has attracted a significant amount of attention from outside city limits.
Two guest editorials published in Park City’s local paper, the Park Record, by Summit and Wasatch County elected officials endorsed separate candidates and presented opposing views on how collaborative current city leadership is with its regional partners.
On August 4th, Heber City Mayor Kelleen Potter, Midway Mayor Celeste Johnson, and Wasatch County Councilor Danny Goode publicly endorsed Beerman. The leaders touted Beerman's collaboration on a range of issues, including public transportation, regional planning, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They asked voters to “consider the tremendous value of the relationships and regional coordination” Beerman has built during his time in office.
In contrast to those claims, a second editorial was published last weekend by Summit County Councilors Roger Armstrong, Doug Clyde, and Glenn Wright claiming the opposite.
The three endorsed Worel, and said the county’s collaboration with Park City has “degraded substantially” over Beerman’s first term. They claim Beerman and Councilor Tim Henney, who is also running for reelection, have taken a “more insular path on a variety of issues,” and say collaboration between them has virtually stopped apart from communication between city and county staff.
The three pointed to the transit system split between Park City and Summit County as the best example of this rift. The split and formation of High Valley Transit in Summit County was finalized in July. KPCW asked Armstrong, Clyde, and Wright to clarify their claims, but all chose to not comment further.
Park City’s municipal election takes place on November 2nd and will be conducted exclusively by mail. Ballots will be mailed on or before October 12th.
