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Bill Clinton scheduled to make fundraising stop in Park City area

Former President Bill Clinton, the husband of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, is scheduled to visit the Park City area in August, a fundraising trip that is planned almost precisely a year after the candidate herself made a local appearance.

Glenn Wright, the chairman of the Summit County Democratic Party, said the event is slated for Aug. 11 at a private residence in the gated community of Glenwild. Wright said the former president will likely appear in the early afternoon. Wright said a minimum contribution of $1,000 is required to attend.

“It’s terrific. I love that he’s coming into town,” Wright said. “To have high-profile Democrats visit Park City is always a treat.”

He added that a place like Park City is “remote” for presidential politics and that the area does not regularly “get to talk to the big decision makers.”

Wright said he plans to make a contribution to the Clinton campaign in order to attend the Aug. 11 event. Wright said he wants Clinton to highlight contrasts between the Democrats and the Republicans on issues like climate change, income inequality and immigration reform in his remarks.

“I want to hear a very positive message where we can take the country over the next few years, even decades,” Wright said, explaining that he will be “looking for a unifying message” from Clinton.

The former president is scheduled to travel to Park City a year after an August 2015 fundraising stop by Hillary Clinton. That visit came in the months before the start of the primaries and caucuses, but she was widely seen as the front-runner for the nomination by then. The event with Hillary Clinton was also held in Glenwild.

People who attended the 2015 event said she covered topics like fighting climate change, supporting gay rights, education, entrepreneurship and women’s rights. One of the attendees said she spoke in more substantive terms than other politicians.

Bill Clinton has visited Park City on several occasions over the past 20 years, including twice during his presidency for family ski vacations. He narrowly lost Summit County in the 1992 election but won the county by a slight margin when he was re-elected in 1996.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, was routed in Summit County in the state Democratic presidential preference poll during the nominating season. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who challenged her for the nomination, won approximately 68 percent of the votes in Summit County.

The two Clintons are among the prominent political figures who have tapped donors in Park City over recent election cycles. Others who have held fundraising events in the Park City area have included George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, Rudy Giuliani and Jon Huntsman. The Park City area is seen as an attractive place for a fundraising stop as candidates are drawn by the wealth of full-time residents and vacation-home owners.

The upcoming visit is expected to involve a significant security operation as the former president receives Secret Service protection. Justin Martinez, the Summit County sheriff, said the Secret Service had not contacted the Sheriff’s Office by Tuesday morning. The Park City Police Department also had not been contacted, but the police in Park City would not be the lead local agency for an event outside the city limits.

Martinez said the Sheriff’s Office would support the Secret Service if asked. Deputies could assist with a motorcade if it is requested, as an example, Martinez said. He said Glenwild is a gated community, providing an “extra layer, barrier of protection.” Still, he said, the former president will “create a buzz” when he visits.

“We’d be able to advise them on ingress and egress, emergency routes, if necessary,” Martinez said about information the Secret Service might request.

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