Name: Kevin Van Tassell

Age: 58 years old

Office seeking: state Senate, District 26

Lives: just outside of Vernal

Occupation: branch manager in the Vernal branch of Zions Bank

Political experience: incumbent state senator, seeking second term

Party: Republican

Kevin Van Tassell sees one of his successes during his first term in the state Senate as being something that many Parkites appreciate: reforming Utah’s alcohol rules, a set of notoriously strict regulations that the tourism and restaurant industries say make Utah a less desirable destination.

Van Tassell said the Legislature was able to “modernize” the alcohol rules during his first term.

That, he said, has been popular among his Park City-area constituency.

“For Park City, that’s probably one of the biggest things,” Van Tassell said.

He also said state alcohol regulators could perhaps make additional liquor licenses available. He said it is appropriate to increase the number of the licenses.

Park City restaurants and nightclubs have pushed legislators to loosen the laws with moderate success. They worry that the ski crowds might choose to go to other places like Colorado if there is a perception that it is too much of a hassle to drink in Utah.

In another acknowledgement of the Park City-area’s role in his legislative agenda, Van Tassell said he wants to double the amount of funding the state puts into tourism advertising. Park City’s tourism-heavy economy is seen as one of the major beneficiaries of state funding for the advertising.

Van Tassell, meanwhile, is interested in additional safety measures along Interstate 80 in Summit County. He identified the eastbound lanes close to Jeremy Ranch as a place that he would support upgrades.

“We need to get some additional barriers up,” Van Tassell said.

Other platform planks of his include ensuring that the state is a business-friendly place. That will grow the Utah economy, he said. Van Tassell, though, said he would study more regulations of the lodging industry if it is found they are needed. He did not provide specifics, however.