A little more than a year ago, Park City voters were clear in their desire for change in the leadership at the Marsac Building.
In less than a year, voters will decide whether they want even more change.
There will be three Park City Council seats, a majority, on the ballot on Election Day, giving voters the opportunity to continue the shake-up of the election in 2021 or, if the incumbents seek reelection, keep the current roster of elected officials intact.
The City Council seats held by Becca Gerber, Max Doilney and Ryan Dickey will be voted upon in 2023. Gerber is in her second term, Doilney is a first-term member of the City Council and Dickey is serving a partial term after filling the spot on the City Council vacated by Nann Worel as she ascended to the mayor’s office in early 2022.
Dickey in an interview said he plans to seek a full term in the election this year. The other two whose seats are on the ballot said they have not made a decision yet.
Dickey, a Park Meadows resident, was appointed to the City Council in early 2022. He is a real estate agent and owns a small business in homeowners association management. He declined to discuss a potential campaign platform so many months before the contest officially begins.
Doilney said he is focused on City Hall issues rather than the upcoming political season. He said there is lots of municipal work that is his priority. It is unclear when he will make a decision about a potential reelection bid.
Gerber said she will take her family into consideration as she weighs whether to seek another term. She also wants to talk to constituents prior to making a decision. Gerber said she wants to spend time this year focusing on topics like City Hall’s housing programs, affordability issues and social equity.
The contest in November will follow two years after Park City voters elected a new mayor — Worel — and two new members of the City Council — Tana Toly and Jeremy Rubell — in a campaign that tilted against incumbents. There were worries about a broad list of issues like traffic, the impact of the tourism industry and affordability leading up to that election, and a controversy about a series of social justice murals on Main Street stretched into the campaign season.
It is not known whether voters remain irritated to the degree they were when they cast ballots in 2021. There are still widespread worries about long-running issues like growth, traffic, housing, affordability and the community’s relationship with the resort industry that drive the community conversation. There has seemed to be perhaps slightly less tension in Park City, though, in recent months.
City Council challengers normally do not make their political plans public until the spring or, in some cases, until they file the required campaign paperwork at the Marsac Building. The filing window for the election runs from June 1 until June 7. If more than six people seek a City Council seat, a primary would be held to reduce the field to six for Election Day in November. The winners will be seated for four-year terms in early January of 2024.