Summit County Councilman Doug Clyde will step down from his role on the county council this week. Hius departure starts the process to fill his seat.
A proclamation for the Nov. 2 county council meeting recognizes Clyde’s six years of public service and marks his retirement.
Clyde has lived in Summit County for 44 years, and his tenure includes chairing the council during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With his resignation, an appointment process to fill his open seat begins. The Summit County Democratic Party oversees that since the seat is a partisan elected position.
The party’s central committee, which includes over 100 delegates, will ultimately vote on Clyde’s replacement.
Two local officials — Snyderville Basin planning commissioner Thomas Cooke and Coalville City planning commissioner Tonja Blonquist Hanson — have expressed their intent to seek the appointment.
Cooke has lived in Park City for 30 years, in the Silver Summit neighborhood since 2011, and has served on the Snyderville Basin 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.
The Democratic Party central committee will meet in person, and voting will happen online. A date for that meeting hasn’t been established yet.
Summit County Democratic Party Chair Katy Owens Hubler told KPCW that no other candidates have come forward.
The party plans to give the candidates a chance to discuss their platforms at the central committee meeting, and Owens Hubler said the party hopes to livestream that. She also said many vacant delegate seats have been filled in the past several weeks.
Once the party elects a candidate, that person will fulfill the remainder of Clyde’s term.
