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Two planning commissioners seek to replace Doug Clyde on Summit County Council

Coalville City Planning Commissioner Tonja Blonquist Hanson and Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioner Thomas Cooke are seeking to replace Doug Clyde on the Summit County Council.
KPCW
Coalville City Planning Commissioner Tonja Blonquist Hanson and Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioner Thomas Cooke are seeking to replace Doug Clyde on the Summit County Council.

With Doug Clyde planning to vacate his seat on the Summit County Council before his term ends, two county residents have let the Democratic Party know they want his job.

Summit County Council member Doug Clyde announced last month that he’d leave office two years before his term ends, but hasn’t named a date.

The official process to replace him can’t begin until he does so. The Summit County Democratic Party oversees his replacement, because the county council is a partisan board, and when a Democrat vacates a seat, the party has 30 days to pick another Democrat to finish the term.

But two longtime community members have already thrown their hats in the ring.

Snyderville Basin planning commissioner Thomas Cooke and Coalville City planning commissioner Tonja Blonquist Hanson have announced they intend to seek the role.

Cooke has lived in Park City for 30 years, in the Silver Summit neighborhood since 2011, and has served on the planning commission nearly six years. He works for The Bicycle Collective, a Salt Lake City nonprofit, running operations and e-commerce.

Hanson is a fifth-generation Summit County resident. Her background is in marketing, hospitality and the resort industry, and in addition to the Coalville Planning Commission she serves on the Summit County Open Space Advisory Committee.

Cooke said his goals include making sure big development projects are in line with community values. He said he believes that the impacts of growth, including traffic, have affected the Basin more severely than other areas of the county, and his planning commission experience with land use matters will benefit the council.

“I consider myself sort of a self guided student of responsible growth and slow growth and strong town building development practices," Cooke said. "And one thing that we were required to do by the state on Planning Commission is do a certain number of hours per year of outside education and I don't miss an opportunity to do that. I'm interested in how to solve the problems that we have right now.”

Hanson said she believes the county’s diversity requires a council be geographically balanced. She said she’s seeking the seat to provide that, and added that water quality protection, affordable housing and collaboration with municipalities are her priorities.

Clyde has lived in Oakley for 24 years and is the only current council member from the Eastern side of the county.

Cooke said he and Hanson are good friends. But he questioned whether the selection process is proceeding as intended, as some delegates said Hanson began contacting delegates and asking for their votes weeks before Clyde’s announcement.

In addition, Sally Elliot, a former member of the Park City and Summit County councils, introduced Hanson at a Park City Rotary meeting two weeks ago as her choice for the next county councilor.

Lynn Wood, who ran for mayor of Coalville last year, said she heard about the impending vacancy over the summer, and while it was interesting, she said it was too late to consider seeking the seat now because “the discussions have already happened.”

Katy Owens, chair of the county party, encouraged anyone interested to apply as soon as the process starts. She said no decision has been made on Clyde’s replacement.

Once Clyde gives the council a date, the party schedules a meeting and vote of its central committee. That committee is made up of all county delegates, the County Party Executive Committee, and elected Democratic officials countywide.

The central committee will meet in-person and virtually, and voting will happen online. If more candidates emerge, the party will use ranked-choice voting to select someone.

The party has 117 registered precinct delegates, party leaders and elected officials who will vote. It also has 43 vacancies for precinct and party delegates. When the central committee meeting is scheduled, people can apply for the vacant precinct slots, and must live in the precinct they want to represent.

Clyde said he’s waiting to announce a date so he can comment on upcoming legislation but figures he’ll step down around the end of this month.