An Oakley man on Monday launched an Occupy Park City movement, setting up in City Park with an anti-corporate message and indicating that he does not intend to commit acts of civil disobedience but he has not ruled them out.
His presence is the first known public appearance of the Occupy Wall Street movement in Park City. He did not garner widespread publicity on Monday.
Tyler Galovich, a 28-year-old house painter who has lived in Summit County for 15 years, said he intends to set up camp for an indefinite period of time. He said he works during the daytime hours on weekdays, but he plans to be at City Park at all other times.
“The whole point of this movement is to occupy everywhere,” Galovich said on Tuesday.
He said he expects others, perhaps “quite a few,” will join him. He spent several weeks as part of the Occupy Salt Lake movement in Pioneer Park before he set up in Park City.
Galovich will have two tents. He will sleep in a three-person tent and use a 10-person tent for organizing purposes. He wants the presence to spur community discussions about politics.
Galovich offers wide-ranging criticism of corporate America, and he especially targets CEO pay. He said some CEOs earn more than 400 times the salary of the typical American worker. Galovich said the movement wants the gap between CEO pay and the salaries of Americans addressed. Galovich, meanwhile, said Wall Street has a powerful lobby in Washington, D.C.
“I’m hoping it will go over quite well once people understand the importance,” he said, adding that he anticipates support from Park City’s environmentalists.
He said the Occupy Park City movement does not plan to target businesses on Main Street, saying that many of them are locally owned shops or restaurants. He said the movement supports local ownership of businesses.
Police Chief Wade Carpenter said he planned to meet Galovich on Tuesday to discuss the Occupy Park City plans. The police chief said he is consulting City Hall attorneys. Several police officers were seen midmorning on Tuesday close to Galovich’s site.
Camping inside the city limits is prohibited. Galovich said he wants to obtain the proper City Hall permit to continue the Occupy Park City presence in the city.
Galovich said civil disobedience is not desired. He said, though, “any means to protect our First Amendment right will be acted upon.”
The Occupy Park City movement has staked out a Park City site as a Donald Trump supporter continues to hold one-man political events that started in the spring. The Deer Valley man has been spending several midday hours each weekday on Main Street holding a pro-Trump sign.