Long before I decided to run for the Summit County Council, I was serving this community.
For nearly 30 years, while raising a family, building a career, and living the same busy life as everyone else, I always found time to get involved. I helped women recovering from cancer. I worked to protect our environment. I supported local youth programs. I served on nonprofit boards. No matter what else was happening in my life, community service was always part of it.
That’s not because I was planning to run for office someday. It was because I care deeply about this community and believe that if you want something to thrive, you have to be willing to contribute to it.
I am a Utah native, and Summit County has been my home for nearly 30 years. During that time, I’ve served on the boards of Recycle Utah, Image Reborn Foundation, and Park City Ski & Snowboard, while also participating in Rotary and Leadership Park City.
Those experiences gave me something valuable: a broad understanding of this community and the many different perspectives that make it what it is.
My professional career gave me something equally important. For decades, people have trusted me to navigate complicated issues, negotiate solutions, solve difficult problems, and make decisions where the consequences last for years or even decades. That’s what leadership looks like. It’s listening, weighing competing interests, making tough calls, and taking responsibility for the outcome.
Those are the skills Summit County needs right now.
The County Council’s responsibilities go far beyond land use. The council makes decisions about transportation, water, public safety, open space, economic development, taxes and growth. The people serving on that council need more than opinions. They need judgment.
I also bring an independent voice.
For nearly 30 years, my loyalty has been to this community — not to a government board, not to past decisions, and not to special interests. I am not running to defend the status quo. I am running to ask hard questions, think independently, build consensus where possible, and help ensure that the decisions we make today are ones we’ll be proud of years from now.
Growth is coming. Pressure from outside interests isn’t going away. We need leaders who can see the bigger picture, make thoughtful decisions, and never lose sight of what makes Summit County special.
After nearly 30 years of serving this community, I am ready to put that experience, judgment, and independent leadership to work on the County Council.
Christie Babalis
Candidate for Summit County Council, District 4