Most residents who spoke at a public hearing in Coalville April 15 support districting the all at-large Summit County Council.
All of Summit County’s mayors say they’ve heard the same and voiced support for five districts.
Kamas Valley resident Katie Cannarella shared concerns about how the bill requiring districts passed but said she still wants them.
“Not because Democrat or Republican. It's city versus country. Out on the east side, we are country people. You in Park City are city people. You have different issues,” she said. “We just want to maintain our rural lifestyle desperately.”
Current county leadership has said the local Republican party advocated for the law that requires districts, House Bill 356.
It was passed at the eleventh hour during the 2025 General Session with no public input.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed HB356 with the caveat that he wants to fix “unintended consequences” in a special session. Wasatch County officials had asked him for a veto because it requires them to redraw their districts too.
Tuesday’s meeting of the mayors was a chance to talk about what changes Summit County should ask for, including the number of districts, how they’re drawn and what happens to the current council. Most residents spoke just about districts, and in favor of the bill as written.
Hoytsville Republican Tory Welch initially told KPCW he is in favor of keeping one at-large seat. He changed his tune ahead of the hearing, asking residents on social media to come out in support of five districts.
According to Jimmy May, the Summit County GOP’s Park City vice chair, Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1 in Park City and the Snyderville Basin.
In eastern Summit County, Republicans outnumber Democrats at 4-to-1.
But western Summit County accounts for two-thirds of the overall population. According to Kamas Mayor Matt McCormick, all districts’ populations must be within 10% of each other.
“We don't have a populous number of people that are going to be right here in this little valley. We're going to creep over the edge, and we're going to creep over into the west side, so to speak, to get enough population to make it fair,” Coalville Mayor Mark Marsh said.
County Council Vice Chair Canice Harte agreed. He thinks the county might end up with two Snyderville Basin districts, one Park City district and one South Summit district that may need to include Promontory, as well
As written, HB356 says the boundaries will be drawn by a commission of the mayors, one representative from the unincorporated county and the county clerk, the only member who wouldn’t vote.
Oakley Mayor Zane Woolstenhulme made a motion to recommend an additional unincorporated county representative, but it wasn’t seconded. No other changes gained traction.
The next time residents can weigh in will be April 23 at the Sheldon Richins Building in Kimball Junction.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW. For a full list, click here.
