Jack Rubin ran for State Senate at the same time I ran for State House the first time. Though we were running for different offices from different parties, I believed Summit County had an opportunity. We hadn’t had someone from our community in the Legislature for a long time, and I thought we could work together to support local voices at the Capitol. So I reached out to him.
After a productive in-person meeting, when I asked Jack if he would introduce me to some of his contacts, his response was telling. He said, “You only get so many chits,” and he didn’t want to waste one on me.
That was my first real experience with Jack — and it stuck with me. When given an opportunity to be gracious and look out for the community’s interests over his own, he chose the latter. Since then, he has chosen to pretend we’ve never met. These are not qualities I want to see in our elected leadership.
We need leaders who lift others up, collaborate across party lines and across roles, and who see building relationships as essential. That has not been my experience with Jack.
Fast forward to today, and he’s running for mayor on charged slogans like “Take Park City Back.” Take it back from what? From decades of progress on open space, trails, affordable housing, and vibrant neighborhoods? From a community that — while dealing with the same challenges every mountain town faces: traffic, housing, growth — has thrived and succeeded in ways others envy?
Every Park City resident feels the growing pains of development. We see it in traffic, housing costs, and the strain on our small-town character. But responsible growth requires thoughtful, steady leadership — someone who understands how to balance development pressures with the community’s long-term interests.
The Legislature has shown repeatedly that it will step in and override local control if it disagrees with our local government. We need a mayor who can navigate that relationship carefully.
I want a mayor who will call in a “chit” when an opportunity to support the future generations of our community present. A mayor who will build others up, not tear them down. A mayor who sees progress as something to continue, not dismiss.
Park City needs leadership that can step into the role on day one and move Park City forward — not someone who’s first order of business must be mending relationships damaged in a campaign.
That’s why I cannot support Jack Rubin for mayor in 2025.
Meaghan Miller Gitlin
Pinebrook