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Guest opinion: If elected mayor, I’ll lead by honoring the people and our community

Nann Worel
Park City Council member and mayoral candidate

I started my career as a United States Navy nurse and have lived a life of service ever since. Caring for wounded warriors as they returned from Vietnam taught me leadership lessons I’ve carried with me. Leadership is about service and honor — honoring the people and community I serve and the commitments I make. It’s about putting aside personal agendas and listening with genuine interest, empathy and openness. It’s about giving credit where credit is due and engaging divergent voices to collaborate on solutions to Park City’s biggest problems. It’s about being brave and humble enough to course correct when the city’s direction doesn’t align with the will of the residents.

In the nonprofit world, I had the privilege of serving as executive director of the People’s Health Clinic for eight years and nationally as president of the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics for two years. Both organizations experienced tremendous growth during my tenure and required collaboration with numerous entities to achieve mutually beneficial results. Those collaborations were built on mutual trust and respect, both necessary components of effective leadership. If elected mayor, I will utilize those skills to forge, strengthen and nurture regional relationships. We have numerous challenges facing our community, such as housing, transportation and environment that can only be effectively addressed through regional collaboration and planning. Without restoring mutual trust and respect between the mayor’s office, the Summit County Council and our regional partners, nothing will be accomplished.

I served on Park City’s Planning Commission for 5 1/2 years and learned about land use through guiding documents including the Land Management Code and General Plan. I strongly believe updates are needed to provide maximum direction to Planning Commission as developments are considered and provide protection to residents as mitigation measures for potential impacts from proposed developments are put into place.



While on Planning Commission, I developed great appreciation for public process and saw numerous examples of how projects are improved when staff and the public weigh in. As a member of the Park City Council currently serving a second term, I continue to advocate for open, inclusive and transparent public process and reliance on the expertise of our staff. Our residents deserve nothing less, yet many feel their voices are unwelcome in the current administration and decisions are being made without guidance from experts or the community.

During my tenure on City Council, I’m proud of the open space that’s been saved with the help of the community and nonprofits. I’m proud of the ambitious climate goals that have been set and, with strong community support, are being met. I’m excited we have begun electrifying our fleet and will meet the goal of being net-zero by 2022 for city operations. I’m proud to be part of the work being done in our community in regard to social equity and the inclusion of voices not previously heard, such as our LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse and senior communities. I’m honored to have been part of the effort to bring mental health initiatives to the forefront and to work alongside Summit County and various nonprofits in those efforts. I have advocated strongly to increase the availability of affordable, quality childcare for our workforce and will continue. I serve as the council liaison to numerous boards and commissions addressing issues ranging from the arts to historic preservation to equity to transportation and believe strongly that it is their direct efforts that weave together this amazing community.



My focus has always been on WE rather than ME. What we accomplished in the past and who and what Park City becomes in the future is dependent on all of us working together to continue to build a complete and more sustainable community. I humbly ask for your vote on Nov. 2.

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