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Park City man runs for City Council seeking police reform

Michael Franchek has claimed officer violated constitutional rights, ‘fabricated’ charges

A Park Meadows man has started a campaign for the Park City Council, saying he wants reform within the Park City Police Department and desires housing options in the community.

Park Meadows resident Michael Franchek has launched a campaign for the Park City Council, saying he will push for reform in the Police Department and address housing.
Courtesy of Michael Franchek

Michael Franchek is 56 and has lived in Park City for three years. He is a sustainable design and construction professional, and he considers himself to be a government watchdog.

“I have the skills. I have the knowledge. I have the passion,” he said about his entry into the campaign.



Franchek said he wants people with lower and middle incomes to be able to afford to live in Park City, where housing in the resort-driven real estate market has long been a challenge for rank-and-file workers. He said he wants Park City to avoid a housing scenario like that of the one in Aspen, Colorado, where he said workers commute two hours.

Franchek, though, did not provide details of the housing plank of his platform, declining to comment on potential locations for projects.



Franchek also said he supports the small-business community. He talked of limiting so-called big-box retailers in Park City and supports the idea of people shopping at locally owned businesses.

Franchek wants Police Department reform that would increase the accountability of the agency. He did not provide details but questioned a lease arrangement involving a vehicle. Franchek has been a critic of the Police Department and has claimed an officer violated his constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, and that the police have previously “fabricated” charges against him.

He sees himself as “policing the police.”

In a release announcing the campaign, Franchek noted a whistleblower role in assisting the Department of Justice retrieve monies in a case involving overcharging by a government contractor. A Department of Justice release indicated Franchek would receive nearly $1.3 million from the proceeds of the settlement.


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