10 year Park City resident Jamison Brandi officially filed paperwork to run for city council on Monday. He told KPCW he hopes to be a voice for the city’s workforce in local government.
A New York native, Jamison Brandi went to film school in Southern California before coming to Park City in 2011. Since then, he has worked as a snowboard instructor at Park City Mountain Resort, in the service industry at the Montage, as a volunteer video editing instructor at the library, and currently works at the St. Regis at Deer Valley.
He told KPCW he was inspired to run for office after last fall’s national elections and saw a need in local government for a voice representing the working class in Park City. He said his experience as a member of the workforce and his daily interactions with the city’s visitors gives him a unique perspective he thinks the city council needs.
“You know, I’ve been here 10 years,” said Brandi. “I’ve lived on the same street, I live on Park Avenue right across from City Park. Just being here, in 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of changes, some good, some bad. I just figured the fact that I spend a lot of time with a lot of the workforce, I’m part of the workforce in Park City, and the fact that I also get to see a lot of visitors and a lot of people who come to Park City being in a hotel, it’s unique because you’re in touch with everything. You’re getting people that live here, you’re in contact with every day, and you’re also getting involved with people that visit here, so you see both sides of it.”
Brandi added many of the people he works with are simply too busy to get involved with what happens at city hall. He says many of his colleagues work several jobs and have to put their trust in the council to act in their best interests. He wants to be a part of that discussion.
“I think a lot of people are looking for something fresh, something new, someone who can carry the voice of the workforce, so that’s my goal,” Brandi said. “Just trying to be the voice at city council for the people that I work with, myself, the people that work two jobs or work so much they really can’t get involved on a daily basis, they put their stock into city council, so I thought it was a good opportunity.”
If elected, Brandi said his priority during his first term would be pushing through more affordable and workforce housing, as well as expanding on the city’s walkability initiatives. He pointed to the recent groundbreaking of a large project at the Canyons Village as an example of what could be done in Park City.
“The priority is going to be, I don’t want to say affordable housing, I want to say workforce housing,” he said. “They just revealed a project in the Canyons, that’s the kind of stuff we need to be doing. More importantly, local incentives. I also want to reach out to Vail; I worked with them for three years as snowboard instructor and I’ve got a good rapport there, they need to get involved, they control a lot of the revenue that comes through here, they need to give back to the community as far as housing. There’s also the walkability bond. Not only do I bike to work and a lot of our coworkers who are workforce bike to work, it’s a huge part of the visiting community.”
Brandi said official campaign social media pages will go live sometime next week.
Brandi joins a crowded field for city council with incumbent Councilor Tim Henney, and fellow Parkites Tana Toly, Jeremy Rubell, Daniel Lewis, Michael Franchek, John Greenfield, and Thomas Purcell all vying for two seats.
A primary will be held on August 10th in order to reduce the field to four ahead of November’s municipal election.
