Bruce Palenske, a Salt Lake City man who once lived in the Snyderville Basin, was in the crowd on Wednesday as presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a fundraising stop in the Park City area.
The Democratic front-runner’s remarks to the crowd at a private residence in Glenwild covered a range of issues that appeals to Palenske. He said Clinton spoke about her desire that technology jobs remain in the U.S. and that she was impressed with Utah’s efforts to keep those jobs. He said she touched on topics like fighting climate change, continuing the Affordable Care Act, supporting gay rights, education, entrepreneurship and women’s rights.
“I’ve always been intrigued with Bill Clinton and, now, Hillary Clinton,” Palenske said.
He said Clinton’s remarks did not resemble a typical campaign speech. It had more grass-roots appeal than a standard stump speech, he said, describing that Clinton acknowledged that she would not win heavily Republican Utah if she is the party’s White House nominee. She said, though, she could learn from Utah, Palenske said. He said Clinton was not “slamming” Republicans.
“She had points, bullet points, what she stood for,” he said.
Alan Agle, a Park Meadows resident, was also in attendance. It was the second time he heard Clinton speak after a 2008 event in New York City. Agle said Clinton offered “more substance” than he typically hears from a politician. She explained her platform with “very sound and thought out” statements, he said.
“She’s superior to most politicians . . . in the depth of her thought and her raw intelligence,” Agle said.
He had his picture taken with Clinton, shook her hand and spoke to her briefly.
Glenn Wright, the chairman of the Summit County Democratic Party, said seeing and listening to Clinton in person is far different than seeing media coverage of her. She came across well, he said.
“She was good. She was eloquent. You could tell she really feels genuinely about the issues she’s talking about,” Wright said.
He said Clinton spoke extensively about early childhood education and, while addressing foreign policy, she said she wants to negotiate and build coalitions. Wright said Clinton also spoke about topics like income inequality, tax reform and the possibility of the federal government assisting in refinancing student debt.
Summit County Sheriff’s Office logs indicated the Sheriff’s Office, the Park City Police Department and the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Secret Service in providing security for the event. There were no incidents, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Clinton event was the latest in a series of presidential-level campaign stops in Park City in recent election cycles. Some of the notable ones have included Mitt Romney events, a fundraiser attended by Barack Obama during his first campaign and a visit by President George W. Bush during his second term in office.