County Councilman David Ure, a Republican, has not faced much opposition from his challenger this year in the campaign for seat E on the Summit County Council.
“This is the first time in all of the politics that I have been involved in that I have had an opponent that didn’t really campaign, and so it’s new to me too,” Ure said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I haven’t been very aggressive but I think I have still showed respect for the process and for the people to let them know that I am out and about and I still need their vote.”
Ure is facing a challenge from Francis Democrat KayCee Simpson. But Simpson has not aggressively campaigned for the post.
“I haven’t gone door to door as much this year. I’ve probably only put about 10 hours in going door to door,” Ure said. “On the East Side of Summit County, they’re still being really direct with me. They are saying that I, in many topics, am not representing the East Side.”
The political makeup of eastern Summit County is in many ways more conservative than voters in the more heavily populated Snyderville Basin and Park City. Ure, a Kamas resident, is the only eastsider on the County Council.
“One of the things that I have got to do is spend more time in educating both sides as to the philosophies of the other,” Ure said. “On the East Side, traditions are very, very important. Sometimes they are so important that we jump over dollars to pick up dimes But there are certain things in agriculture that the West Side doesn’t understand.”
Each of the County Council’s five members currently serve the county at large. Ure said he would support forming specific districts for councilpersons to represent.
“I think the council as a whole feels like maybe we ought to be going to districts just because it is possible to have all five come out of the Snyderville Basin, within a mile of each other,” Ure said. “Districts are one thing where we know that all of the people on the whole will at least have some representation. At least we know every part of the county will have the opportunity of voting for someone who represents them directly.”
When the form of government in Summit County changed to the council/manger model in 2009 terms on the five-person panel were staggered. Ure was elected to serve a two-year term in 2008.
Now he is campaigning to serve for four more years.
Simpson has not responded to interview requests.