It’s only Democrats running in the first election for Summit County Council using voter districts.
Christie Babalis and John Kucera are running in the central Snyderville Basin, District 4. Canice Harte and Meredith Reed are the candidates for the greater Jeremy Ranch area, District 5.
The Summit County Democratic delegates chosen on Tuesday, typically about 100 people, will vote to nominate one candidate in each district at the county convention April 7.
That could be the whole election. But Babalis, Kucera, Harte and Reed are all collecting voter signatures.
That’s one of two ways to trigger a primary election on June 23. The other is if neither candidate in a race gets 60% of delegate support at the convention.
District 4 candidates need 169 signatures, and in District 5 they need 179. All the candidates told KPCW they have either met that threshold or expect to do so by the deadline. They must submit those signatures to the Summit County Clerk’s Office for verification by March 24.
Summit County GOP Chair Ari Ioannides said last month his party wanted to field a candidate in every race this year, but there’s only a Republican running for clerk.
“We made a big effort to challenge, to find somebody for District 4 and 5. And we found some good people,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.” “But in every case, they felt like they couldn't win.”
The pool of potential candidates is smaller since the passage of House Bill 356 last year, which the local GOP backed. Much to the chagrin of Democrats, HB356 divided the five at-large Summit County Council seats into districts.
A KPCW analysis found Republicans have the best shot to gain seats on the all-blue council on the rural eastside. Park City and Snyderville Basin voters usually pick Democrats.
Democratic primaries are open, meaning anyone can request a ballot regardless of party affiliation. That also means candidates can collect signatures from any voter to force a primary.
The Democrats who prevail will be uncontested in the general election.
But it’s not too late for unaffiliated or write-in candidates to get on the ballot.
The deadline for unaffiliated candidates to enter the race is June 15. The filing deadline for write-ins, who could be from any party, is Aug. 28.
The general election is Nov. 3.
