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Now’s the time to make a commitment to your town

PR

November’s Park City election seems a long way off but, by state law, anyone interested in being on the ballot must decide well ahead of time whether to run. The official filing window to run for a seat on the Park City Council opens this Monday, July 2 and slams shut July 16.

So far there has not been a huge outcry from disgruntled citizens calling for an overhaul of local government. Most residents seem to trust their elected officials. But with three of five seats on the ballot, there is an opportunity to bring new voices and a new perspectives to the table.

Marianne Cone, Joe Kernan and Candy Erickson will complete their four-year terms in January and, by any measure, all three have served the city well.

So far, Kernan and Erickson have announced they plan to seek another term but Cone is still making up her mind. And two early birds Liza Simpson and Kacy Quinley — already have declared that they intend to file.

They are all good candidates with proven track records of community service. However, to a large extent, the incumbents and challengers are pretty homogeneous.

Two years ago, a group of young residents attempted to mobilize the city’s 20- to 30-year-old constituency, whose most pressing issue at the time was affordable housing. Although the group hasn’t been active recently, we are still holding out hope that one of its members will come forward to run for City Council.

Just as the city fathers of the 1950s had to relinquish their roles to younger residents in the 1970s, it will soon be time for the generation that ushered in the ski resorts, the Olympics and the real estate boom to turn their leadership roles over to the next generation.

Hopefully there are some among the younger crowd willing to make the commitment to improve their community by serving in public office. And now is a great time to get started.

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