The number of candidates for the three seats on the Park City Council ballot this year has dwindled to four, a surprisingly small field for a City Hall election.

There remains the possibility that the slate of candidates could expand, even weeks after the filing window closed for people who wanted their names on the ballot.

Election rules allow someone to seek a spot on the City Council as a write-in candidate. Someone who wants to mount a write-in campaign, though, must meet an upcoming deadline. They would be required to file a form known as a declaration of candidacy at City Hall by Sept. 26, a Monday.

Someone filing a form to seek a City Council seat as a write-in candidate must meet a set of requirements that the other candidates were required to meet. They include:

  • being a U.S. citizen at the time they file candidate papers
  • being at least 18 years old at the time of the election
  • being a resident of Park City or a recently annexed area for 12 consecutive months preceding Election Day
  • being a registered voter inside Park City

    A write-in candidate’s name would not appear on the ballot. They must file the paperwork, however, for any votes for them to count.

    Sharon Bauman, City Hall’s elections officer, said she had received one inquiry about the possibility of a write-in campaign by Thursday. Bauman said the person contacted her earlier in September. The person did not provide their identity, Bauman said. She declined to disclose the person’s gender.

    Write-in campaigns are extraordinarily rare in local politics. There has not been one in Park City since at least the late 1990s.

    A write-in candidate would be considered a long shot given their supporters would need to take the extra step to cast a vote for them on Election Day. Since their name would not be on the ballot, a write-in candidate also would not be readily available to a voter looking for an alternative to the candidates whose names are on the ballot.

    A write-in candidate, meanwhile, would also be launching a campaign two months after the others started theirs, leaving them six weeks to rally supporters before Election Day.

    Five people submitted campaign papers to City Hall during last summer’s filing window. One of those candidates, Lee Caruso, said in early September she would end her campaign. She has since formally withdrawn her name as a candidate by submitting the necessary paperwork to City Hall. Caruso’s name will not be on the ballot.

    The remaining candidates are:

  • Andy Beerman, the leader of the Main Street merchants
  • Anne Bransford, a member of the Park City Board of Education
  • Dick Peek, an incumbent City Councilor seeking his first full term
  • Liza Simpson, an incumbent City Councilor seeking her second term

    There has been little activity in the campaign thus far. Labor Day is the traditional start of Park City’s political season, but the City Council campaign has not jumpstarted in the week-plus since the holiday. Campaign signs, though, have been seen in yards in recent weeks.

    There is not expected to be an overriding issue during the campaign, but topics that will likely be heavily debated include the economy, development in Old Town and the prospects of some sort of conservation deal involving some or all of the Sweeney family’s Treasure acreage. Voter interest in this year’s campaign had been difficult to gauge since the opening of last summer’s filing window.