What does the future hold for the Park City community?

While it’s impossible to predict with any accuracy, Parkites do know the answer to the related question of who will have the most power to determine what that future looks like: the elected officials who represent them at City Hall.

That’s what makes the first seven days of June so crucial for the community. The filing window will be open for candidates to formally launch municipal campaigns, with the mayor’s office and two seats on the Park City Council up for grabs in this fall’s election. So far, incumbent Mayor Andy Beerman and City Councilor Nann Worel have announced they will file for the mayoral race, while City Councilor Tim Henney and Parkites Daniel Lewis and Jeremy Rubell have said they will run for City Council.

The stakes this November are high, not only because of the influential positions that will be filled but because of the decisions the people who fill them will make. Over the next four years, City Hall must make progress on the crucial long-term issues facing the community, such as affordable housing and traffic, and do it in the face of increasing growth pressures in the Wasatch Back.

The officials who take oaths of office in January may also end up overseeing the continued economic recovery from the pandemic and will certainly make key decisions on issues of community-wide interest. The proposed arts and culture district in Bonanza Park, which is one of the largest projects ever undertaken by City Hall, and the planned facility along S.R. 248 to store contaminated soils are two examples of major topics confronting the current slate of elected officials.

Most importantly, the victors in November will be tasked with ensuring the actions of City Hall accurately reflect the will of the voters. That’s easier said than done and requires smarts, passion and commitment, both to the community and to the ideal of public service.

As anyone who has served in public office can attest, it’s not an easy job. If done right, the hours are long and the decisions difficult. And constituents are often quicker to criticize for what they perceive as mistakes than they are to offer a pat on the back for a job well done.

But the rewards, too, can be great: serving the community, being a voice for constituents and having a major say in the direction of City Hall.

This election season, we need qualified, spirited candidates who care deeply about Park City and the people who live and work here to step up. Parkites deserve a vigorous debate about our city’s future, the kind of campaign that will help them make wise decisions about who they want leading us into it.

In the end, voters will pick the candidates they believe can best handle the challenges awaiting the next roster of elected officials at the Marsac Building. The choices voters make, though, can only be as good as the candidates they have to choose from.

Here’s hoping a diverse and compelling slate of candidates emerges by the time the filing window closes. The future of our city — for at least the next four years — will depend on it.

More information about running for office in Park City can be found at parkcity.org/government/election-information.