With the local election results final, the hypothetical presented in my previous letter to the editor, “Filling vacancies,” has come true. The Park City Council will have a month to fill Ryan Dickey’s seat once he moves up to the top spot.
Recall Utah Code 20A-1-510.
Let’s look at the council election results. According to the official report, Jeremy Rubell got 1,530 votes, or 26% percent. It would seem that the town is overwhelmingly happy with Tana Toley and Diego Zegarra in the council seats.
However, Jeremey is far more popular than 26%. If you voted, you know the ballot allowed for two votes for council. If you live in this town, you also know most voters were either in the Tana/Diego camp or the Jeremy camp. With 3,437 ballots counted and 1,530 of those for Jeremy, that means that his actual popularity sits closer to 44%. When you factor in how people vote with a two-of-three option, that math is even more complicated and the results more muddled.
Needless to say, this election was close. Very close. And with half of the town scratching their heads wondering what the future of Park City looks like, the thought of the new administration handpicking the seat replacement with little oversight is concerning.
According to the law, the council will fill the vacancy with a registered voter following an expression of interest and an interview. After the interview, the council will vote a majority for the replacement.
Reference the Park City Council debate.
I recommend everyone watch the debate starting at 39:38 for about a minute and a half. During this exchange, the candidates were able to ask each other a question. Jeremy highlighted that Tana and Diego would be able to fill the open seat and he confronted them with the question regarding a voting bloc that would potentially be created with a three-person majority on the council.
Diego quite literally laughed at the idea without answering the question, and Tana said “I would never want to actually do that … to anyone.”
That’s good to hear.
Earlier in the debate, Tana and Diego were asked how they plan to fill the seat with reference to the law.
At 8:44, Tana said that it’s difficult to answer that question because they “don’t know who would even apply.”
Shortly after, Diego said, “I would … look at the pool of applicants that we have and pick the person that’s best qualified for the moment.”
Awesome. It’s refreshing to know that no one was working to fill the seat before the election was over and that they would pick the most qualified person for the vacancy.
Well, I would like to nominate Jeremy Rubell for the open seat on the City Council. As a former council member, he surely exceeds the qualifications. As the recent election highlights, he is preferred by the community over anyone else that might randomly apply (with the possible exception of mayoral candidate Jack Rubin). Behind the victors, he got more votes than anyone else in the primary and general election. He is a clear choice to avoid this potential voting bloc, which is ultimately good for the community.
Let’s fill the open seat with the most qualified and experienced person who is widely popular throughout town. This is an elegant solution to a very undemocratic process.
Brian George
Park City