Wednesday the Summit County Council unanimously approved a new district map that will impact local elections in the years to come.
Instead of voting for all five council members, residents will now elect a single representative from their geographic area.
Council chair Tonja Hanson will cover District 1, which includes northern Summit County and Silver Creek. District 2, which largely resembles the South Summit School District boundaries, will be represented by Megan McKenna.
Roger Armstrong is the council member for District 3, which covers Park City proper and The Colony neighborhood.
Because both McKenna and Armstrong live in the Park City district, Summit County Clerk Eve Furse did a random drawing at Wednesday’s meeting to determine who would cover the Kamas area.
McKenna told KPCW she’s been committed to representing the entirety of Summit County since she was elected last year.
“I’m looking at this really as an opportunity to get to know that part of the county better and to build those relationships,” McKenna said. “I look forward to hearing from residents in that district with their specific issues there in South Summit, but really that’s what I signed up for when I ran — representing all Summit County residents.”
Chris Robinson will be the representative for District 4, which stretches from Henefer to the southern portion of the Snyderville Basin.
District 5, which covers lower Pinebrook, Summit Park and Jeremy Ranch, will belong to council member Canice Harte.
The map was created by a commission largely composed of the county’s mayors. The population difference between the largest and smallest districts can't be more than 10% under Utah law.
Hanson told KPCW she doesn’t expect the change to impact the current council’s governing philosophy.
“At the end of the day, and in speaking with the other council members, this is not going to change the way we do business right now,” Hanson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Oct. 9. “We all feel strongly that we represent all of Summit County. In the future, will that change with new council members? That is a possibility. We’ll see how that shakes out. But for now, I just don’t think constituents will see a change in how we operate.”
The law mandating the shift from an all at-large council was passed in the final minutes of the Utah Legislature’s session earlier this year.
Proponents of the legislation hope the districts will increase representation for eastside residents and Republicans on the historically blue council. Critics said it was passed with minimal public input and is a partisan power play by the majority-Republican legislature.
Parts of the law were changed during a special legislative session Monday to let council members serve in the districts where they live, instead of being randomly assigned across the county.
State lawmakers also granted Wasatch County an exemption, allowing its county council to maintain its split structure, with five districts and two at-large seats.
Harte and Robinson’s seats will be up for reelection next year, while the other three council members' districts will be on the ballot in 2028.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
